Explained | Vijay Mallya loses extradition appeal: What happens next?

Embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya on April 20 lost an appeal in a UK High Court against the former Secretary of State Sajid Javid’s order to extradite him.

In the order against Mallya, judges Lord Justice Irwin and Justice Elisabeth Laing DBE said, “We consider that while the scope of the prima facie case found by the SDJ is in some respects wider than that alleged by the Respondent in India, there is a prima facie case which, in seven important respects, coincides with the allegations in India.”

Mallya has been accused of fraud and money laundering amounting to an estimated Rs 9,000 crore and is wanted in India.

What are Mallya’s options now?

According to the UK’s Extradition Act 2003, Mallya can appeal against extradition in the UK Supreme Court if he can get a certificate from the high court stating that a point of law of general public importance has been ignored by both the magistrate court and the high court. If the High Court refuses to provide him with the certificate, Mallya will not be able to appeal to the Supreme Court. As a result, Secretary of State Priti Patel will make the final decision on Mallya’s extradition. If Secretary of State Patel gives her consent, Mallya will be extradited to India within 28 days from the date that Patel makes her decision.

If Mallya appeals to the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision, he must apply for an appeal within 14 days of the High Court’s decision. The permission to appeal can be granted by the Supreme Court or the High Court.

The Secretary of State is required to order extradition unless it is prohibited under certain conditions of UK law. However, Mallya may make a representation justifying why he shouldn’t be extradited within 28 days of the case being sent to the Secretary of State.

According to the UK’s extradition law, extradition is prohibited under three circumstances, the first is if the person in question will face death when extradited. The second circumstance is if the person has already been extradited to the UK from another country or transferred from the International Criminal Court and consent is required from that third state for further extradition. The third circumstance is if “there are no speciality arrangements with the requesting country – ‘speciality’ requires that the person must be dealt with in the requesting state only for the offences for which they have been extradited".

If Secretary of State Patel orders Mallya’s extradition after all appeals are exhausted, he will be sent to India within four weeks of the order.