'Mallya can't be extradited till secret legal proceedings in UK get resolved'

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court that fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, cannot be extradited to India until a separate secret legal process in United Kingdom, which is judicial and confidential in nature is resolved.

The Centre said that it is not aware of the secret ongoing proceedings against Mallya in the United Kingdom, as the government of India is not party to the process.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, in its affidavit filed in the contempt case in which Mallya has been held guilty, said that this legal issue is outside and apart from the extradition process and is confidential and cannot be disclosed .

Mallya, an accused in bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines, is in the United Kingdom. He has been based in the UK since March 2016 and remains on bail on an extradition warrant executed three years ago by Scotland Yard on April 18, 2017.

A bench of Justices U U Lalit and Ashok Bhushan which took up the matter through video conferencing asked Mallya's lawyer to apprise the court by November 2, what kind of "secret" proceedings are going on to extradite him.

The bench told advocate Ankur Saigal, representing Mallya that since government of India says it has no idea about the proceedings, he has to apprise the court about what is the nature of proceedings, when are these proceedings getting over and lastly when is the contemnor (Mallya) going to appear before the court.

At the outset, advocate Rajat Nair, appearing for Centre said that in compliance with the order of the apex court "we made extradition requests to the United Kingdom but we have been informed that some secret extradition proceedings are going on to which we are not party .

He said that the Centre's request for extradition of Mallya has been upheld by the highest court of UK but nothing has been happening as of now due to the separate process, which has been initiated.

The bench then asked Nair that when the request has been upheld by the highest court of UK then what is holding back the extradition of

contemnor.