India’s top court demands fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya return by Feb. 18, 2026, or lose his legal challenge to India’s Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.

The Bombay High Court has told fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya that it will not consider his legal challenges to India’s Fugitive Economic Offenders Act unless he returns to the country. A bench led by Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad gave Mallya until February 18, 2026, to file an affidavit clarifying his intent to return, warning that failing to do so may result in the court treating his petitions as abandoned. Mallya, who has lived in the UK since 2016, is challenging both his designation as a fugitive economic offender and the constitutionality of the 2018 law. The government argues he cannot benefit from Indian legal proceedings while abroad, while his lawyers contend hearings can proceed without his physical presence. The court has not dismissed the petitions but deferred action pending Mallya’s response.