Mallya back in UK HC as lawyers focus on Indian airline industry woes

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya was back at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Wednesday for the second day of his High Court appeal against extradition to India, during which his lawyers argued against any prima facie case of fraud and money laundering against him.

The 64-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss, wanted in India on charges amounting to an alleged Rs 9,000 crores in unpaid bank loans, sat in the public gallery as his legal team highlighted the widespread woes of the airline industry in India, including another collapsed firm Jet Airways.

Let’s hear the arguments in court, he said, as he entered the courtroom.

Lord Justice Stephen Irwin and Justice Elisabeth Laing, the two-member bench hearing the appeal, confirmed at the start that they would not be handing down their verdict immediately after the hearing, scheduled until Thursday.