Extradition case: Vijay Mallya to be presented before court on Nov 20

New Delhi: Fugitive Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who has done loan defaults to several banks amounting to nearly Rs 9,000 crore, will face pre-trial hearing in the extradition case in the Westminster court in London on November 20.

The embattled tycoon, who is out on bail on an extradition warrant, has been exempted from appearing in the court till his trial begins in the case on December 4. Taking the advantage of the same, he skipped the hearing at Westminster Magistrate's Court in London.

At the last hearing in the case on July 16, the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which is representing the Indian government, has informed the court that the British government had been extremely supportive with the Indian authorities and had provided sufficient material to establish a prima facie case for the extradition of the UB Group chief.

Also Read: United States: Indian doctor stabbed to death in Kansas

"We received the physical box of evidence on Monday which has to be scanned to be sent to India. We were disappointed to receive physical evidence in 2017. It lost us a week," said CPS barrister Mark Summers said on Thursday's hearing.

The judge, Chief Magistrate Emma Louise Arbuthnot, expressed sympathy towards the CPS on the issue and said it was "slightly unfortunate in 2017" and requested CPS to provide her with scanned copies as well.

The judge also asked the prosecution if relevant evidence had been sought from India on prison conditions in the country, which she highlighted as a concern that has been "raised in extraditions to India before".