India seeks Interpol arrest warrant against Vijay Mallya

May 12, 2016

New Delhi, May 12: India has approached Interpol for issuance of an arrest warrant against liquor baron Vijay Mallya in connection with a money laundering case being probed by the ED.

The development comes in the backdrop of Britain recently declining India's request to deport the businessman from there.

Officials said CBI has forwarded a request in this regard to the global police after its sister probe agency ED sought a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against the beleaguered businessman to make him join the investigation.

CBI acts as the nodal office for execution of Interpol warrants in India.
An RCN is issued "to seek the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful action" in a criminal case probe.

Once the notice has been issued, the Interpol seeks to arrest the person concerned in any part of the world and notifies that country to take his or her custody for further action.

The Enforcement Directorate has been trying to make Mallya join investigation "in person" in the over Rs 900 crore IDBI loan fraud case in which it had registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) early this year.

It has almost exhausted all legal options to make Mallya join the probe including issuance of a non-bailable warrant against him by a Mumbai court based on which it made the request for revocation of his passport and subsequently sought his deportation.However, Britain has made it clear that Mallya cannot be deported and asked India to seek his extradition instead.

The British government said it acknowledges "the seriousness of allegations" against Mallya and was "keen to assist" the Indian government in this case. ED is also mulling attaching domestic assets and shares worth about Rs 9,000 crore owned by Mallya in this case.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had yesterday said in Parliament that India will now have to initiate extradition process after a charge sheet is filed to bring back the embattled tycoon to face money laundering charges and to recover Rs 9,400 crore extended as loan to his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines by banks on which he has defaulted.

Cancellation of passport "does not result in automatic deportation, that is the stand taken by UK," Jaitley had said.

Officials, however, had said filing a charge sheet is a time-consuming process and hence some other legal options will be explored to make Mallya join probe in India being conducted not only by ED but also the CBI.

Mallya had left India on March 2 using his diplomatic passport.
The ED has registered a money laundering case against Mallya and others based on an FIR registered last year by the CBI.

The agency is also investigating the financial structure of Kingfisher Airlines and looking into whether kickbacks had been paid to secure loans.

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Over 58 lakh names dropped from draft voter list in Bengal ahead of polls

News Network

December 16,2025

The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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