The government on Monday informed the Supreme Court of India that Vijay Mallya’s extradition to India has been delayed as the erstwhile liquor baron has launched "secret" proceedings” in the UK courts. This after the UK Supreme Court has upheld Mallya’s extradition request.

The Ministry of External Affairs counsel further said that the government wasn’t party to the secret extradition proceedings launched in the UK.

When Mallya’s counsel was quizzed on the issue by the apex court, he claimed ignorance and this did not go down well with the judges.

The Supreme Court blasted Mallya’s counsels and asked them to provide clarity on the nature of current proceedings in the UK in the next hearing.

The Supreme Court also directed Vijay Mallya to appear before it in the next hearing as he failed to do so, as asked, today.

The next hearing is scheduled on November 2, 2020.

Mallya, an accused in bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines, is in the United Kingdom.

Mallya had in May lost his application seeking leave to appeal his extradition to India in the UK Supreme Court, setting a 28-day clock on his removal from the UK.

The UK top court's decision marked a big legal setback to the 64-year-old flamboyant businessman, who had earlier lost his high court appeal against an extradition order to India on charges of alleged fraud and money laundering related to unrecovered loans to his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

Mallya has been based in the UK since March 2016 and remains on bail on an extradition warrant executed three years ago by Scotland Yard on April 18, 2017.

First Published:Oct 5, 2020 2:44 PM IST