No threat to Mallya’s life in jail: India to tell UK court

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ India will soon convey to a British court that fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya will not face any threat to his life in jail, if extradited in connection with a Rs 9,000 crore loan default, officials said.

The Indian government’s assurance will be conveyed to the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London through the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which is arguing the extradition case of Mallya on behalf of the Indian government.

The decision has been taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and attended by representatives of various authorities, including the Ministry of External Affairs yesterday, a home ministry official said.

The meeting deliberated on the response to be filed in the UK court, rejecting Mallya’s apprehension that he will not be safe in Indian jail if sent back to India to face trial in the Rs 9,000 crore Kingfisher Airlines loan default cases.

With a detailed assessment of security cover given to prisoners in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail and Delhi’s Tihar jail, the Indian government will tell the UK court that when extradited, Mallya may be lodged in Arthur Road jail where he will get full security cover as an undertrial prisoner, the official said.