Bombay High Court Warns Vijay Mallya Against Posting Court Documents Online
Mumbai — The Bombay High Court has warned businessman Vijay Mallya against posting court documents on social media while proceedings related to a money laundering investigation by the Enforcement Directorate remain pending, a lawyer said Tuesday.
Advocate Ashish Mehta said the court issued the warning after the ED objected to Mallya posting the agency’s affidavit on X before the court had considered its contents.
The court scheduled the matter for Oct. 13 and directed the State Bank of India to file a fresh affidavit taking into account disclosures made by the ED.
Mallya told the High Court in February that he was unable to specify when he would return to India, citing restrictions imposed by courts in England that he said prevented him from leaving the country.
The High Court is hearing two petitions filed by Mallya. One challenges his designation as a “Fugitive Economic Offender” under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, while the other contests a court order formally declaring him a fugitive.
Senior advocate Amit Desai, representing Mallya, had cited Supreme Court judgments in which writ petitions were heard despite the absence of the petitioners. Desai said extradition proceedings against Mallya are continuing in the United Kingdom and that his client is aware of them but cannot leave the jurisdiction because of binding court orders.
The High Court questioned Mallya’s intention to appear before the court, saying he appeared to be relying on UK court orders without clarifying whether he had challenged those orders. The bench indicated that the orders could not be treated as a blanket justification for his absence.
The court had also directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to respond to Mallya’s affidavit and asked Desai to file a detailed affidavit recording statements made during the hearing so the Union government could respond. (Source: IANS)
