Will India be able to bring back Vijay Mallya?

The extradition trial of infamous business tycoon Vijay Mallya has just begun and all eyes are on the Westminster Magistrates' Court. The 61-year-old faces charges relating to now defunct Kingfisher Airlines defaulting on loans to the tune of Rs 9,400-crore from a consortium of 17 banks in India & another case involving a Rs 900-crore loan from IDBI Bank.

The judgement, to be delivered in the next 10 days, would decide if he can be legally forced back to India to face trial.
If the judge rules in favour of extradition at the end of the trial, UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd must order Mallya's extradition within two months.

However, in the past, India's attempts to bring back defaulters have failed. Besides Mallya, others whom India has sought to extradite include Lalit Modi, Ravi Sankaran, Nadeem Saifi and Tiger Hanif.

According to data from the Ministry of External Affairs, 121 people who fled India and are being pursued for alleged crimes back home, but the host countries are yet to take a decision in India's favour.

Mallya, who has been staying near London since March 2016, had objected to his extradition to India saying CBI has converted the Kingfisher Airlines loans case into a criminal matter and have no case against him.  

His extradition trial will now determine whether he can be legally forced to go back to face the Indian courts.

Source: MEA, news reports