A Delhi court today declared absconding businessman Vijay Mallya a proclaimed offender for evading summons in a FERA violation case. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Shehrawat passed the order after noting that Mallya failed to appear before it despite repeated summonses.


"In view that Vijay Mallya failed to appear before this court within 30 days, and no representation was made on his behalf, he is declared as proclaimed offender," the court said.


The court had on April 12 last year issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant against the liquor baron. Unlike a non-bailable warrant, 'open-ended NBW' does not carry a time limit for execution.


On November 4, 2016, while issuing non-bailable warrant against Mallya, the court had observed he had no inclination to return and had scant regard for the law of the land. It had said that coercive process has to be initiated against Mallya as he was facing proceedings in several cases and avoiding appearance in those matters.


The court had also held that Mallya's plea that he wanted to return to India but was "incapacitated" to travel as his passport had been revoked by Indian authorities, was "malafide" and "abuse of the process of law". -- PTI