Can't say when I'll return to India; legally barred from leaving UK: Mallya to Bombay HC
Mumbai (PTI): Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, facing multiple cases of fraud and money laundering, told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that he cannot say when he will return to India as he is legally barred from leaving the UK.
In a statement submitted through his counsel Amit Desai to the high court, Mallya said he did not have an active passport after it was revoked and hence, he cannot give a definite date of return to India.
The statement was submitted after a bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad made it clear last week that it would not hear Mallya's plea against the order declaring a fugitive economic offender until he returns to India.
The court had then asked the former liquor to clarify whether or not he intended to return to India.
Mallya, based in the United Kingdom since 2016, has filed two petitions in the HC -- one challenging an order declaring him a fugitive economic offender and the other questioning the constitutional validity of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.
The 70-year-old liquor baron is accused of defaulting on multiple loan repayments of several thousand crores and facing money laundering charges.
The businessman, in his statement to HC, said he cannot give a definite date for his return as he does not have his Indian passport, which was revoked by the government in 2016, and also because there are orders of courts in England and Wales that prohibit him from leaving the country.
"Mallya is not permitted to leave or attempt to leave England and Wales or apply for or be in possession of any international travel document. In any event, the petitioner is unable to precisely state when he will return to India," Desai read out the statement in the court.
The senior counsel reiterated that Mallya's presence was not required in the country for the court to hear his pleas against the fugitive tag and the provisions of the Act.
"If he (Mallya) were to appear in India, then all these proceedings would be rendered irrelevant as the statute says that once the offender appears in the concerned court of law, then all these orders would be set aside," Desai told the court.
The bench directed the Union government to file its reply to Mallya's statement and posted the matter for further hearing next month.
Mallya was declared a Fugitive Economic Offender in January 2019 by a special court hearing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The businessman left India in March 2016.
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21 Congress MLAs leave for foreign tour ahead of budget; leaders say trip is personal
Bengaluru (PTI): At least 21 Congress legislators in Karnataka left for a foreign tour ahead of the state budget on Wednesday, as a power tussle continues within the ruling party.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to present a record 17th budget on March 6, soon after the legislative session begins. The session will continue until March 27.
It is learnt that the MLAs travelling abroad are considered loyal to the CM.
According to Congress sources, 11 MLAs flew out on Tuesday, while 10 others are scheduled to leave for various foreign destinations with their families.
Sources said C Puttaranga Shetty, B Devendrappa, H D Thammaiah, Hampanagouda Badarli, B M Nagaraj, A Vasanth Kumar, D Thimmaiah and Sharanagouda Patil Bayyapur are among those travelling abroad.
The legislators are touring Australia and New Zealand. They will first fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and then continue their journey to Australia and New Zealand, sources added.
The MLAs clarified that the trip is personal and has nothing to do with the party or the government.
"We are going on a private tour. It’s just my family and me," Thammaiah told reporters at the Kempegowda International Airport here.
The Chikkamagaluru MLA said the decision had been taken during the Belagavi legislative session.
"Those interested in the tour are travelling. We often go abroad, but this is the first time it has made news," Thammaiah said.
Badarli sought to clarify that all the MLAs were funding the tour themselves and that it had nothing to do with politics.
"We travel abroad two or three times. Earlier, we visited Muscat, European countries and the United States," he said.
Puttaranga Shetty said the MLAs would return on March 2 or 3.
Responding to suggestions that those travelling belonged to Siddaramaiah’s camp, Shetty said, "The CM is not aware of our trip. Why drag his name into this unnecessarily?"
MLAs considered close to Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said there was nothing unusual about "common friends travelling abroad together."
"We too have travelled abroad. What is wrong with that? I was not invited. Our team is different from theirs, but it is not factionalism," MLA H C Balakrishna said.
MLA Ravi Ganiga said no one could remove the incumbent or change the government merely because of a foreign tour, adding that the Congress high command takes appropriate decisions at the right time.
