He has option of further appeals in UK and European courts
London: Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi has lost his appeal in a London High Court and is likely to be extradited soon to India from the UK. Modi had allegedly cheated the Punjab National Bank (PNB) of over Rs 11,000 crore, a report in The Tribune, chandigarh, says is as he lost his appeal in the High Court on Wednesday.
Rejecting the appeal against extradition to India on mental health grounds, the High Court in London ruled that his risk of suicide was not such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him to face charges of fraud and money laundering.
The Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Justice Robert Jay, who heard the appeal earlier this year, delivered the verdict for the fugitive businessman’s extradition to India.
They said 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 related to mental health — under Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and Section 91 of the Extradition Act, 2003.
The 51-year-old has the option of further appeals in the UK and European courts. The process to bring him to India is unlikely to be a speedy one. — Agencies
Testimonies of 2 psychiatrists clinched Nirav Modi case: CBI
Meanwhile the CBI in India of Thursday, November 10, said that testimonies by two psychiatrists during the final hearing was crucial.
CBI Officials said, during the final hearing, Professor Andrew Forrester of Cardiff University and Professor Seena Fazel of the University of Oxford gave evidence before the High Court, which dismissed the appeal filed by the fugitive.
“Today’s judgement of the UK High Court is a significant achievement in the context of CBI’s efforts to curb corruption and is a reminder that fugitives, who have eluded the process of law after commission of large value frauds, cannot consider themselves above the process merely because they have changed jurisdiction,” the CBI said in a statement.”.
It also lauded the efforts of various government agencies, especially officers of the High Commission of India, London, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs in coordinating the trial, timely submission of evidence and prompt follow-up of the case at all stages.
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