India responds to plea by jeweller against his extradition
THE Indian government has submitted its legal response to an application by fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi, who has sought permission to appeal against his extradition in the UK Supreme Court.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which appears on behalf of the Indian government in the UK courts, had until Monday (5) to file a response in the high court in London to the 51-year-old diamond merchant’s plea against being extradited to India. He faces charges in case related to an estimated $2 billion (£1.64bn) Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam.
The appeal was filed by Modi’s lawyers last month when he lost his initial high court appeal on mental health grounds. It came after a two-judge bench ruled his risk of suicide was not such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him from Wandsworth prison in London to Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai to stand trial on fraud and money laundering charges.
“We met the December 5 deadline,” the CPS confirmed.
The high court in London will now make a decision on whether to grant permission to appeal “on the papers”, without a hearing. This process is likely to take some weeks and is not expected to be completed this year.
“If they refuse to certify a question and leave to appeal, then that is the end of the road. If they certify a question but refuse leave, then he applies to the Supreme Court directly for permission,” the CPS said.
There are three sets of criminal proceedings against the diamantaire in India – a Central Bureau of Investigation case of fraud against the PNB which caused losses equivalent to over £700 million; an Enforcement Directorate case relating to the alleged laundering of the proceeds of that fraud; and a third set of criminal proceedings involving alleged interference with evidence and witnesses in the CBI proceedings.
Then UK home secretary Priti Patel had ordered Modi’s extradition based on judge Sam Goozee’s Westminster magistrates’ court ruling in April 2021. The case is now undergoing an appeals process on that extradition order.
Home Office sources have indicated that it is unknown if and when extradition will take place as Modi still has legal challenges open to him. If his attempt to have his appeal heard in the Supreme Court fails, in principle, Modi can apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to try and block his extradition on the basis that he will not receive a fair trial and that he will be detained in conditions that breach Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the UK is a signatory.