Officials said the agency has made a plea to the court to issue an order under Section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and term him a proclaimed offender as Mallya has “multiple” arrest warrants pending against him, including a non-bailable warrant (NBW) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
They said the court may pronounce its order on the ED’s plea on June 13.“There are multiple arrest warrants pending against Mallya in various cases like that of cheque bounce and he is also wanted in a money-laundering case. The agency has briefed the court about the status of investigations in the case and the need to get Mallya join probe,” they said, adding the agency has moved the same anti-money laundering court in Mumbai in this regard which had earlier issued an NBW against him.
A person can be termed a proclaimed offender in a criminal case probe, if the court has reasons to believe that the accused against whom a warrant of arrest has been issued by it, has absconded or is concealing himself so that such warrant cannot be executed.
As per Section 82 of the CrPC, the court can publish a written proclamation, requiring such an accused to appear at a specified place and at a specified time in not less than 30 days from the date of publishing of such a proclamation.
They said the agency also has the option to seek action under Section 83 of the CrPC (attachment of property of person absconding), if Mallya does not comply with proceedings initiated under Section 82. The agency is also set to attach his properties worth Rs 1,400 crore under the PMLA.
The ED has been wanting Mallya to join the probe “in person” in the Rs 900 crore alleged loan fraud of IDBI bank and has virtually exhausted all legal remedies like seeking an Interpol arrest warrant and getting his passport revoked.
It is also seeking to invoke the India-UK Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to extradite Mallya from Britain.