The Bombay High Court on Thursday (February 12) reiterated that it will not entertain a petition filed by fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya challenging provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act unless he returns to India to face trial.
A division bench of the court made it clear that a person declared a fugitive economic offender cannot seek discretionary relief from Indian courts while remaining outside the country and evading the legal process. The judges underlined that the legal framework does not permit an accused to challenge the consequences of the law while simultaneously refusing to submit to its jurisdiction.
Mallya’s petition questions the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, under which he has been declared a fugitive in connection with cases of alleged financial fraud and money laundering linked to the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. His counsel argued that the law violates fundamental rights and imposes disproportionate penalties, including the attachment of properties.
The court, however, maintained its consistent position that such arguments can be examined only after Mallya returns to India and participates in the trial proceedings. It observed that allowing challenges from abroad would undermine the very objective of the law, which was enacted to deter economic offenders from fleeing the country and frustrating the justice system.
With this reiteration, the High Court effectively kept Mallya’s plea in abeyance, making his physical return to India a precondition for any further hearing on the merits of his challenge.
The case against Mallya dates back more than a decade and stems from the collapse of Kingfisher Airlines, which ceased operations in 2012 under the weight of mounting losses and unpaid dues. Investigative agencies allege that loans amounting to over ₹9,000 crore availed by the airline from a consortium of Indian banks were diverted and siphoned off, leading to charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy and money laundering. Mallya left India in March 2016, shortly before banks moved aggressively to recover their dues, and has since remained in the United Kingdom.
Since then, Indian authorities have pursued multiple legal avenues to secure his return and recover assets. He was declared a fugitive economic offender by a special court in Mumbai in 2019 under the FEO Act, a move that enabled the attachment and confiscation of his properties in India. Extradition proceedings were initiated in the UK the same year, with British courts eventually approving his extradition, though the process has been delayed by successive appeals and legal challenges filed by Mallya. Throughout this period, Indian courts have consistently taken the view that a proclaimed fugitive cannot seek relief from the judicial system without first submitting to its jurisdiction.