UK court wants video of Mallya’s future jail cell

London: A UK court on Tuesday asked Indian authorities to submit – within three weeks – a video of a cell at the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai where they plan to keep Vijay Mallya post-extradition, as it set September 12 for closing arguments in his high-profile extradition trial.

Mallya, wanted in India on financial fraud charges, appeared before the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London where both defence and prosecution presented clarifications on Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where Mallya is to be held post-extradition.

After hearing the arguments, Judge Emma Arbuthnot asked the Indian authorities to submit within three weeks a video of Barrack 12. The Judge set the next hearing, for closing submissions, on September 12 and extended Mallya’s bail until then.

Earlier, Mallya said the allegations of money laundering and stealing money against him are “completely false.”

“At the end of the day, the courts will decide,” he told reporters outside the court.

The former Kingfisher Airlines boss, 62, who has been on bail on an extradition warrant since his arrest in April last year, is fighting extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000 crores.

At the last hearing in the case on April 27, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) got a boost in the case as Judge Arbuthnot confirmed that the bulk of the evidence submitted by the Indian authorities will be admissible in the case.

F1 Force India team boss Vijay Mallya arrives for a court hearing. He is wanted in India on fraud allegations. AP

The CBI had submitted a detailed set of documents to the UK court, which includes a case of conspiracy against former IDBI Bank deputy managing director BK Batra, who was referred to in court as a new “villain” of sorts in the case.

The Indian authorities say Batra reportedly colluded with Mallya in sanctioning some of the loans to the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, without following due diligence procedures.

In the separate extradition proceedings, if the judge rules in favour of the Indian government, the UK home secretary will have two months to sign Mallya’s extradition order. However, both sides will have the chance to appeal in higher courts in the UK against the Magistrates’ Court verdict.

Mallya’s defence team, headed by barrister Clare Montgomery, has disputed the fraud allegations and also submitted further written material from UK-based prisons expert Dr Alan Mitchell, challenging some of the photographs of Barrack 12 of Mumbai Central Prison on Arthur Road, where Mallya is to be held if he is extradited from the UK.

The CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) team, led by barrister Mark Summers, dismissed the additional material as an “attempt to criticise” the information provided by the Indian authorities.

‘Bars to extradition’

The extradition trial, which opened at the London court on December 4 last year, is aimed at laying out a prima facie case of fraud against Mallya, who has been based in the UK since he left India in March 2016. It also seeks to prove there are no “bars to extradition” and that the tycoon is assured a fair trial in India over his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines’ alleged default of over Rs 9,000 crores in loans from a consortium of Indian banks.

The CPS argued that their evidence establishes “dishonesty” on the businessman’s part and that there are no bars to him being extradited from the UK to face Indian courts.

Mallya’s defence team has deposed a series of expert witnesses to claim he had no “fraudulent” intentions and that he is unlikely to get a fair trial in India.

Last month, after a prolonged silence, Mallya issued a lengthy media statement labelling the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) charges against him as “untenable and blatantly false”.

He has since lost his appeal in the UK’s Court of Appeal against a High Court order in favour of 13 Indian banks, to recover funds amounting to nearly £1.145 billion.

The High Court order in favour of the State Bank of India (SBI) led consortium had reinforced a worldwide freezing order against Mallya’s assets.