Nirav Modi to appeal in UK court against extradition to India
NEW DELHI: Fugitive businessman Nirav Modi has approached the UK high court seeking permission to appeal against his extradition to India, people familiar with the matter said on Saturday.
The people cited above said that Modi filed his initial grounds to seek permission for his appeal on April 28 -- the last day of the 14-day deadline from the home secretary’s approval to the extradition.
A Westminster Magistrate Court in London ordered Modi’s extradition on February 25. The extradition was approved by the UK home secretary Priti Patel on April 15.
People cited above said that Modi has challenged both the Westminster court order as well as Patel’s decision.
The UK high court will first decide whether to allow his appeal or not. “If allowed, Nirav Modi will file perfected grounds challenging the extradition and a proper bench will hear the arguments. However, this will take six months to a year,” said an officer familiar with the appeal procedure in the UK.
Modi’s counsel Zulfiquar Memon denied comment on Saturday.
Ordering his extradition, Westminster district judge Sam Goozee said that Modi has a case to answer in India as he, along with his brother Nehal Modi and others, defrauded the
Punjab National Bank, laundered the money taken from it and conspired to destroy evidence and intimidate witnesses.
The court also dismissed Modi’s contention that he won’t get a fair trial in India and that he was being targeted due to political reasons. The court found that his extradition is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. India has contended that there is strong evidence against him for fraud and money laundering.
Modi has been lodged in Wandsworth prison on the outskirts of London since March 19, 2019, after he was arrested following India’s extradition request.
He is the second high-profile economic offender whose extradition has been cleared by a trial court in the UK after former liquor baron Vijay Mallya lost his appeal against extradition in April 2020. the British government, however, has said that his extradition is held up due to a “confidential legal issue”.