India in touch with UK on Mallya's extradition: MEA

India is in touch with the UK on the issue of extradition of Vijay Mallya who has been declared a proclaimed offender, the external affairs ministry said on Tuesday.

Holding that Mallya's arrest in London by Scotland Yard on Tuesday was in connection with the request by the government to the UK authorities for his extradition, external affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said legal process in this regard is underway in the UK.

"The two governments are in touch in this context," he added. The 61-year-old liquor baron, wanted in India for defaulting on bank loans, was arrested after he appeared at a central London police station this morning.

The flamboyant businessman, who once called himself 'The King of Good Times", was released on bail a few hours later.

Last month, setting in motion the process of extradition of Mallya, the British government had certified India's request and sent it to a district judge for further action.

The extradition process from the UK involves a number of steps including a decision by the judge whether to issue a warrant of arrest.

In case of a warrant, the person is arrested and brought before the court for preliminary hearing followed by an extradition hearing before a final decision is taken by the secretary of state.

The wanted person has a right to appeal to the higher courts against any decision all the way up to Britain's Supreme Court. Under the 2003 Act, the British secretary of state may only consider four issues when deciding whether to order a person's extradition.

They are whether the person is at risk of the death penalty; whether special arrangements are in place; whether the person concerned has previously been extradited from another country to the UK and the consent of that country to his onward extradition is required; and whether the person has previously been transferred to the UK by the International Criminal Court.

Meanwhile, the government and the ruling BJP quickly claimed credit for the arrest of the flamboyant tycoon, while congress dubbed the exercise as an attempt to "hoodwink" the people of India. Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said, "We are now assessing the facts how we can bring him back into the country and start judicial proceedings against him."