PMLA court declares Mallya a 'Proclaimed Offender'

On its part, the Interpol will also record a statement from Mallya before making any decisions on his extradition, he adds.

Meanwhile, Mallya will also have the option of moving a higher court against the PMLA order, he says.

Senior Lawyer Satish Maneshinde, however, has a different take. He feels the Indian government should now focus more on settling Mallya’s civil liabilities rather than going after him as a criminal, particularly since he has shown willingness to settle the dispute.Maneshinde does not expect any court to interfere even if Mallya contests the PMLA order.Below is the verbatim transcript of HP Ranina and Satish Maneshinde's interview with Kritika Saxena on CNBC-TV18.Q: How significant would this be? Vijay Mallya has been proclaimed offender officially by the PMLA Court. Will this push Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) case to get Interpol to issue red corner notice (RCN)?Ranina: Yes of course, the Interpol will now be certainly able to start the process to the External Affairs Ministry. It all depend on how fast the External Affairs Ministry action the matter. They will then take it up with the appropriate authority in the UK and the UK authority will then moved a local court in the UK and get an order for his extradition. This will be the procedure which will be followed. I think it should take at least three to four months before we can hope to have in India.Q: But is this enough just a declaration of a wanted person being declared a proclaimed offender. Is that enough evidence or is that enough change in the status for Interpol to actually issue that notice?Ranina: Yes, because this will be done through diplomatic channels, so if the External Affair Ministry is able to justify it to its counterpart in the UK that this is a man who is needed by the Courts in India for defaults which he has committed in India, then certainly the UK court will issue, this is not to proved that he has done anything wrong, this is just the initial thing to show that there is an offence which is considered by the authorities to be of a very serious nature and because it is considered to be of very serious nature his personal appearance in India is necessary. It is not that he is going to be arrested as soon as he comes and that he will go through the legal process in India also.Q: If you heard the details today in a sense PMLA has agreed to ED’s appeal and declared Vijay Mallya as a proclaimed offender. Your initial stance and what are the options ahead for Vijay Mallya and what does the ED need to do now to get Vijay Mallya back?Maneshinde: First of all I must say that I totally disagree with what is happening particularly Mallya who has made it now that he is not likely to come to India in the presence circumstances. The Indian government should have been more keen to settle his civil liabilities rather than go after him criminally because whether he is going to come back to India or no or whether the Indian government successful in getting him back to India is a moot question, but if they really want to see that Mallya has to settle his banking claim which are in the tune of Rs 7,000 crore plus interest. He has offered almost about Rs 6,800 crore to the government of India and I think the banks are getting 99 percent of the principal amount, I don’t see any reason why the Indian government and the banks are wasting the time going after him criminally, particularly when he is saying that he is ready and willing to settle the civil disputes. These are as it may. What you have to see is that whether the UK government where Mallya is presently residing now is likely to honour the proclamation issued by the Indian courts. The proclamation cannot be executed in India.Secondly, all is assets are already attached, so what is the government trying to do, I don’t know.Q: What you are saying is that there isn’t enough evidence for him to be declared a proclaimed offender or that he has given enough the fact is that he hasn’t coming in yet, so hence are you saying that the court’s decision on declaring him a proclaimed offender does not have enough substantiation of evidence?Maneshinde: Under the criminal procedure court any person who is not obeying the process of law can be declared a proclaimed offender, particularly when he does not answer the summons, does not appear in spite of the issue of summons from a Court of Law, warrants are unexecuted and he is not to be found. Today, we know where Mallya is. He is roaming freely in London. He is having his live. He is going all over the world and travelling, so he is not like some fugitive criminal who is underworld don who is hiding himself. This is something where he has sent his lawyers to appear in the court and he expressed his willingness to settle and I don’t see any reason why the government is doing it.