Nirav Modi loses appeal in UK High Court, expected to approach the Supreme Court of the UK soon
Fugitive Diamond merchant Nirav Modi on Wednesday lost his appeal in UK High Court against extradition to India on mental health grounds. The High Court ruled that his risk of suicide is not such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering. Nirav Modi and his fugitive uncle Mehul Chokis now parked in Antigua are facing charges of bank fraud of more than Rs.15,000 crore in India.
Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Justice Robert Jay, who presided over the appeal hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice earlier this year, said in their verdict that District Judge Sam Goozee’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court order from last year in favour of extradition was “sound”. The leave to appeal in the High Court had been granted on two grounds – under Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) to hear arguments if it would be “unjust or oppressive” to extradite 51-year-old Modi due to his mental state and Section 91 of the Extradition Act 2003, also related to mental health.
“Pulling these various strands together and weighing them in the balance so as to reach an overall evaluative judgment on the question raised by Section 91, we are far from satisfied that Mr. Modi’s mental condition and the risk of suicide are such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him,” the ruling states.
“It may be that the main benefit of the appeal has been to obtain the extensive further [Indian government] assurances that we have identified in the course of this judgment, which render the position clear to Mr. Modi’s advantage and the District Judge’s decision supportable,” the judges ruled.
Nirav Modi is expected to approach the Supreme Court of the UK soon to prevent extradition to India. After all avenues in the UK courts are exhausted, Nirav Modi could still seek a so-called Rule 39 injunction from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Therefore, the process of bringing him back to India to be lodged at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai and stand trial for fraud and money laundering amounting to an estimated USD 2 billion in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case still has some way to go.
Nirav Modi remains at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest in March 2019. A few days back a trial court in London approved the extradition of another fugitive, Sanjay Bhandari, to India.[1]
Reference:
[1] UK court approves extradition of Vadra’s associate and middleman Sanjay Bhandari to India – Nov 07, 2022, PGurus.com
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