Dominica court stops removal of Choksi from country: Report
New Delhi, May 28: A court in Dominica has “restrained” authorities from removing fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi from the Caribbean island country till further orders, local media reported.
The order came on a petition filed by the lawyers of Choksi, who was detained in Dominica for “illegal entry”.
“The legal team has filed a habeas corpus petition in Dominica for Mehul Choksi and have also highlighted deprivation of access to Mehul Choksi and deprivation of constitutional rights to legal assistance,” Choksi’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said.
The High Court of Justice in Dominica restrained the authorities from removing Choksi till further orders and listed the matter for hearing, Antigua News Room reported.
On Thursday, Aggarwal had raised doubts about the way
Choksi had gone missing from Antigua and Barbuda only to be detained in Dominica, about 100 nautical miles away, for illegal entry.
Choksi’s lawyer in Dominica, Wayne Marsh, had told a radio show that in a brief interaction with his client, allowed by authorities after a lot of efforts, the diamantaire had claimed that he was picked up at Jolly Harbour in Antigua and Barbuda by men looking like Indian and Antiguan policemen and was put in a vessel.
Marsh had said he saw marks on the body of Choksi who had swollen eyes and feared for his life. —