UK court orders Vijay Mallya's extradition: Judge says no sign that case brought for political reasons; full text of verdict

Beleaguered industrialist Vijay Mallya must be extradited from the UK to India, where he is accused of committing bank frauds of Rs 9,000 crore, a London court ruled on Monday. The Westminster Magistrates Court gave the ruling following a prolonged litigation involving Mallya, who fled India in March 2016. [caption id=“attachment_4300221” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A file photo of Vijay Mallya. PTI.[/caption] Judge Emma Arbuthnot, England’s chief magistrate, decided there was a prima facie case against Mallya, who moved to Britain in March 2016, and his human rights would not be infringed if he were extradited. Her ruling will now be passed to the interior minister who must also approve it. Arbuthnot said there was no sign that the case had been brought for political reasons. The decision came six days after British national and middleman in the Rs 3,600 core AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, Christian Michael, was extradited to India from Dubai. Mallya has repeatedly denied fleeing from India and said he was ready to pay back the money he owed to Indian banks. Here is the full text of Westminster Magistrates’ Court verdict on Mallya’s extradition: