HT Special: CBI gets fresh warrant to arrest Vijay Mallya

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court issued a fresh arrest warrant against liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Saturday to facilitate the investigative agency to extradite him.

The Banking Securities Fraud Cell of CBI had, earlier this month, approached the special court seeking warrant against Mallya as the businessman had failed to respond to investigation initiated by the agency for defaulting loan worth Rs 7,000 crore from a total 17 banks taken by his Kingfisher airlines.

The counsel for the agency had on Friday argued that CBI had approached the businessman to appear before the investigators through several summons and notices, but Mallya has not responded to any of them. The advocate also contended that without warrant the agency cannot initiate the extradition proceedings against him to bring him back.

The special judge H S Mahajan, who was hearing the plea, also observed that since the government has already revoked his passport, how would he return to India. To this query, the CBI advocate replied saying even before he left from India, the agency had issued several summons and had also asked him to appear before the investigating officer, but Mallya did not file a reply. The counsel said Mallya has never cooperated with the investigation.

The advocate also informed the court that Mallya has already been declared as proclaimed offender by the designated court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act in June. Considering these arguments, the special court had reserved the application for orders for Saturday.

On Saturday, after considering the magnitude of the case and circumstances, the court accepted the plea of the CBI and issued non-bailable warrant against the liquor baron.

The central agency had taken up the investigation against Mallya and many others including officials of banks in July as the businessman failed to return the money borrowed for Kingfisher Airlines. The central agency has booked him for cheating and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code.