First come to India, then we’ll hear your plea, Bombay HC tells Mallya

Mallya, accused of defrauding nationalised banks to the tune of crores of rupees, fled the country in March 2016, around a year after the CBI registered the first criminal case against him in connection with loans taken by Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, from a consortium of banks led by IDBI Bank.

The Bombay High Court on Thursday told the lawyer appearing for liquor baron Vijay Mallya that it would hear his petition questioning the validity of the Fugitive Economic Offences (FEO) Act, 2018, and seeking various reliefs in relation to the FEO proceedings against him, only after he returns to the country.

“Tell your client to appear in court first, and then we will hear the matter. Take instructions on when he will come,” the division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gauta