Vijay Mallya says legally barred from leaving UK, rejects 'bhagoda' tag | India News

Vijay Mallya has hit back at those calling him a “bhagoda”, saying he is legally prohibited from leaving the United Kingdom and accusing the Indian government of being “grossly unjust” in his case.In a post on X, Mallya said he has been a permanent resident of the UK since 1992 and claimed that his continued stay in the country was not a matter of choice.“For all who say I am a bhagoda refusing to come to India, please be aware that I have been a permanent resident of the United Kingdom since 1992 and am currently legally prohibited from leaving this country. All this started with poster boy actions by the Government of India who have been grossly unjust in my case,” Mallya said.Mallya's comments come amid his long-running legal battle in India and the UK over his return to India, proceedings under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act and recovery of dues. What Vijay Mallya said about UK restrictionsMallya has previously made a similar argument before the Bombay High Court. In February 2026, he told the court that he could not specify when he would return to India because English courts had barred him from leaving England and Wales or applying for or possessing an international travel document.The Bombay High Court had, however, told Mallya that he needed to return to India if he wanted to pursue his challenge to the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018. The court said he could not avoid the jurisdiction of Indian courts and simultaneously seek relief from them.Mallya is challenging the proceedings declaring him a fugitive economic offender as well as aspects of the FEO Act.Mallya claims ₹14,131 crore recoveredIn another post on Tuesday, Mallya cited an affidavit purportedly filed by the Enforcement Directorate before the Bombay High Court and claimed that it showed ₹14,131.60 crore had been recovered from him.“Affidavit filed by the ED in the Hon’ble Bombay High Court. Para 7 is the decreed debt and Para 17 shows recovered ₹14,131.60 crore in 2021 !! 5 years on I am still referred to as a fraud who cheated the Banks,” he said.Mallya also shared a table which he described as a statement of account of the recovery.“To all who believe in fair and proper accounting justice please see the following table. Do I still deserve the way I am berated by the media and referred to as a fraudster at the very outset of a journalist’s script ? Why not start asking when I will get my refund,” he said.He further claimed that the ED had released more than ₹350 crore from his attached funds to pay Kingfisher employees.“I could not pay because ED attached my assets/funds,” Mallya said.In August, Mallya had similarly claimed that banks and the government had recovered around ₹14,100 crore from him against a judgment debt of ₹6,203 crore.Mallya's legal caseVijay Mallya left India in March 2016 amid mounting legal pressure over loans taken by his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. The CBI had registered cases in connection with loans taken by Kingfisher Airlines from a consortium of banks.Proceedings were subsequently initiated against Mallya under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act after it came into force in 2018.The Indian government has also sought his extradition from the UK. The UK home secretary approved his extradition to India in February 2019, but Mallya challenged the order. The UK High Court rejected his plea in February 2020 and later refused him leave to appeal to the UK Supreme Court.The extradition process has remained subject to further legal proceedings in the UK.Government's stand on return to IndiaThe Centre has maintained that people wanted by Indian authorities must return and face the judicial process.In December last year, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government remained committed to bringing economic offenders back to India, while acknowledging that multiple legal processes were involved.“We remain fully committed that people who are fugitives and wanted by law in India, return to the country,” Jaiswal had said, adding that discussions were underway with several governments and that there were “several layers of legalities involved”.