Mallya’s extradition on mind, India discusses legal tangles with UK
21 February, New Delhi
Days after handing over a formal request for extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya to the UK High Commission here, India held a two-day new round of dialogue on matters related to the Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance.
The Indian delegation was led by Joint Secretary, Consular, Passport and Visa, Ministry of External Affairs and had representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice and investigating agencies, including the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate, and the state authorities concerned, a statement Tuesday said.
The dialogue comes at a significant juncture for India as a request for Mallya’s extradition, who is absconding to evade money laundering cases, was given to the UK High Commission here earlier this month. In the dialogue spread over for two days, the UK delegation was led by the Head of the UK Central Authority for Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance, the UK Home Office and representatives from the Crown Prosecution Service, and the UK High Commission in New Delhi.
The meeting was held, pursuant to the decision taken during the visit of the UK Prime Minister to India in November 2016, wherein the two leaders had directed that the officials dealing with extradition matters from both sides should meet at the earliest to develop better understanding of each countries’ legal processes and requirement; share best practices, and identify the causes of delays and expedite pending requests, so that fugitives and criminals are not allowed to escape the law.
Both sides held detailed and fruitful deliberations on the legal processes and procedures in either country and reviewed the requests for extradition and mutual legal assistance, pending on either side.
They reiterated their determination to strengthen the legal cooperation and expedite the pending requests. It was agreed that the Central Authorities of both the countries would review further progress in these cases every six months, through Video Conferencing.