Nirav Modi to be extradited to India as he loses appeal in British court

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Nov 09, 2022: A high court in the United Kingdom on Wednesday rejected fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi’s plea against extradition to India to face fraud and money laundering charges.

Nirav Modi, 51, is the prime accused in the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam. He fled India when the PNB scam was unearthed and a multi-agency probe began.

 

Nirav Modi had appealed against his extradition to India on mental health grounds. However, the Royal Courts of Justice noted that extraditing Nirav Modi wouldn’t be "unjust or oppressive".

On October 12, the court had reserved its judgment on Nirav Modi’s plea against the verdict of Westminster Magistrates’ Court from last year in favour of extradition.

Hearing Nirav Modi’s plea against extradition to India, the court had noted that India is a “friendly foreign power” and the UK must honour its extradition treaty obligations by not picking holes in the Indian government’s assurances that Nirav Modi will be provided with adequate medical care at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai.

Nirav Modi’s defence had argued that he was in depression and at suicide risk, and that it could worsen with his extradition to India due to the hostile environment in the country where politicians demonised him.

Nirav Modi’s defence team also accused the Indian media of being vitriolic against him and highlighted how the public burnt his effigies.

On this, the court noted, "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."

"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.

Courtesy: India Today