Court to hear FERA violation case against Mallya on Jan 4

PTI, NEW DELHI: A Delhi court will hear on January 4 the issue of whether to declare fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya a proclaimed offender (PO) for allegedly evading summonses in a FERA violation case. 

  The matter could not be heard today by the court due to the absence of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Shehrawat, who had initiated the process to declare him a PO after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed it that his presence could not be ensured. ED's Special Public Prosecutor N K Matta had on the last date of hearing, submitted that it could not ensure the liquor baron's presence despite summonses being sent to his office and residences and the publication of the notice seeking his appearance in the matter in newspapers.

The ED, on January 4, is likely to press for declaring Mallya a PO since the court has already given him the last opportunity to appear in the case. The court had on November 8 initiated the process to declare the fugitive businessman a PO after it was informed that the open-ended non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued earlier against him had been returned as unexecuted and the agency had no other option but to initiate the process under sections 82 and 83 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The court had on April 12 issued the open-ended NBW against the liquor baron. An 'open-ended NBW' does not carry a time limit for execution unlike an NBW (non-bailable warrant).