Overview
- MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India is fully committed to securing the return of fugitives wanted by Indian law and is in talks with several governments.
- He underscored that multiple layers of legalities across jurisdictions shape the pace of extradition and repatriation efforts.
- The remarks followed an Instagram clip from Vijay Mallya’s 70th‑birthday gathering in London in which Lalit Modi called them “the two biggest fugitives of India”; the post was later deleted.
- Vijay Mallya was declared a Fugitive Economic Offender in 2019 in a loan‑default case exceeding Rs 9,000 crore, while Lalit Modi left India in 2010 and faces ED investigations and a 2015 non‑bailable warrant.
- Public and official scrutiny has sharpened this week, with a Union minister urging swift action and the Bombay High Court warning it may not hear Mallya’s plea unless he returns.