In yet another setback to fugitive Indian businessman Vijay Mallya, the London High Court on Tuesday asked him to immediately vacate his multi-million Pound home in the UK capital. The court order came as UBS, the Swiss mortgage bank, won the legal battle for repossessing and selling the lavish house.
The Chancery division of the High Court in London has ruled that VijayMallya and his family must leave the house immediately on their own will or will be evicted forcefully by bailiffs, Times of India reported. The lawyer/barrister representing the Bank, Fenner Moeran QC, has said that his client will not delay the repossession process of a house which is worth millions of Pounds.
In an application for stay on eviction filed by Rose Capital, High Court of London’s Deputy Master Marsh not only refused to permit it but also precluded the permit to appeal. “(Mallya) has had more than sufficient time to resolve this and I am satisfied there is no real prospect that another judge will take a different view and you (Mallya’srepresentative) would succeed on appeal," he said.
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Daniel Margolin said that the verdict will have significant consequences for his client (Mallya) and his family.The court refused a stay of execution until a verdict on appeal is delivered given that the bailiffs will show up at Mallya’s door soon. Nevertheless, Rose Capitaland Mallya are considering an appeal to another judge. However, the bailiffs can pursue execution of the court’s order, the report further says. Mallya Lives in the lavish Grade-1 listed home 18-19 Cornwall Terrace overlooking Regent’sPark.
Vijay Mallya lives in the lavish house with his34-year-old son Sidhartha Mallya and 95-years-old mother, Lalitha. He also owns a house in Hertfordshire which, as per media reports, he bought from F1 deriverLewis Hamilton’s father, Anthony Hamilton. Mallya had fled from India in March2016. One month later, he was declared a “proclaimed offender” by the EnforcementDirectorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). UBS went to court to evict Mallya back in 2018. He has already lost an appeal on extradition back to India in the London High Court in April 2020. He then filed an appeal against extradition in the U.K. Supreme Court in May 2020. In October 2020, The Indian government was notified that Mallya could not be extradited due to“confidential legal matters”.
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