The Bombay High Court on Thursday reiterated that it would not consider fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya’s petition challenging the provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act until he returns to India.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad stated that Mallya must first clarify whether he intends to return.
"You (Mallya) have to come back...if you cannot come back then we cannot hear this plea," the court said.
Mallya, who has been based in the UK since 2016, has filed two petitions in the High Court: one challenging an order declaring him a fugitive economic offender, and the other questioning the constitutional validity of the 2018 Act. The 70-year-old liquor baron faces multiple cases in India related to fraud and money laundering.
While posting the plea for further hearing on February 18, the bench gave Mallya another opportunity to clarify his intentions.
"We may have to record that you are avoiding the process of the court. You cannot take benefit of the proceedings. In all fairness to you, we are not dismissing the petition but giving you another opportunity," the court said.
In its last hearing in December 2025, the court had made clear that it would only hear Mallya’s petition if he returned to India and had asked his counsel to confirm the same. On Thursday, the bench directed the businessman to file an affidavit clearly stating whether he will return.
"When will you come? You (Mallya) have already argued that you are entitled to a hearing without your physical presence in a court of law. But first file an affidavit clearly stating so," Chief Justice Chandrashekhar said.
Senior counsel Amit Desai, representing Mallya, submitted that there were precedents allowing such pleas to be heard and decided without the petitioner’s physical presence.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta countered that Mallya had challenged the provisions of the FEO Act only after being declared a fugitive.
"He (Mallya) can come to India first and then it can be seen whether he is liable or not liable to pay. He cannot not trust the law of the country," Mehta said.
Mehta also noted that the Indian government was contesting Mallya’s London proceedings against extradition, which were nearing conclusion. “Realising that he would soon be extradited, Mallya has challenged the fugitive tag order here,” he said, adding that Mallya’s affidavit claimed banks were wrong to demand money from him.
Desai further noted that Mallya’s properties in India have already been attached by enforcement agencies.
Mallya was declared a Fugitive Economic Offender in January 2019 by a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Accused of defaulting on multiple loans and facing money laundering charges, he left India in March 2016.
