📷 Image Credits: NDTV
The recent statement by a special court in India has shed light on the escape of businessmen involved in multi-million dollar scams like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, and Vijay Mallya. The court mentioned that these individuals were able to flee the country because probe agencies failed to arrest them at the proper time. The special judge, M G Deshpande, made this remark while hearing a plea of an accused booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) seeking modification in his bail condition.
The court recently accepted the plea of Vyomesh Shah, an accused in a money laundering case, to drop the bail condition of getting the court’s prior permission to travel abroad. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had raised concerns that allowing Shah’s application could lead to situations similar to those of Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, and Mehul Choksi.
The judge rejected the agency’s contention and highlighted that the failure of investigating agencies to arrest individuals at the right time resulted in their escape. While individuals like Shah had complied with court summons, secured bail, and followed legal procedures, the mentioned high-profile cases involved a lack of timely action by the agencies.
Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, prime accused in the multi-crore PNB scam, are currently residing in the UK and Antigua, respectively, while Vijay Mallya, accused in an alleged loan fraud case, is in the UK. The court made it clear that Shah’s situation is distinguishable from the cases of these high-profile fugitives.
The escape of individuals like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi due to agency lapses has raised concerns about the efficacy of the law enforcement system. The issue of extradition of these fugitives has been a topic of discussion in diplomatic meetings between India and the UK, with Indian authorities consistently pressuring for their return to face legal proceedings.
