Setback For Vijay Mallya? UK Court Says 'Indian Jails Satisfactory', Quashes Bookie Sanjeev Chawla's Discharge Plea
In July, a UK court had asked the Indian authorities to submit a video within three weeks of Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail cell where they plan to keep fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya post-extradition.
London, November 16: A UK court has quashed the discharge plea of match fixing accuse Sanjeev Chawla. But what the court said while rejecting the plea can have a major implication on India's attempt to extradite alleged economic fugitive Vijay Mallya. The UK Court, while quashing the discharge plea, said that "Indian jails are satisfactory."
Earlier, the UK High Court had stayed the Indian government's appeal against a lower court decision to deny the extradition request for alleged bookie Sanjeev Kumar Chawla, a key accused in the cricket match-fixing scandal involving former South African captain Hansie Cronje in 2000.
In July, a UK court had asked the Indian authorities to submit a video within three weeks of Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail cell where they plan to keep Vijay Mallya post-extradition, as it set September 12 as the date for closing arguments in his high-profile extradition trial. The 62-year-old Vijay Mallya's defence team, led by Clare Montgomery, has also argued that India's jail cells are unsafe and used the same UK prisons expert as Chawla's team, Dr Alan Mitchell, to back up their claims. Indian Prison Conditions in Focus as Vijay Mallya Hearing Nears in UK.
The Indian authorities had done the needful in August and provided the UK Court with a video recording of Barrack 12 for "the avoidance of doubt" over the availability of natural light in the cell where the 62-year-old businessman is expected to be detained pre-trial, during trial and in the event he is convicted by the Indian courts.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 16, 2018 04:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).