London, February 25
In a comprehensive extradition win for the Indian authorities, a UK judge has ruled on Thursday that fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi not only has a case to answer in the Indian courts but that there is no evidence to suggest he would not receive a fair trial in India.
Nirav Modi, wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated $2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, lost his legal battle against extradition on all grounds as District Judge Samuel Goozee also concluded that there are no human rights concerns that his medical needs would not be addressed as per several Indian government assurances.
The 49-year-old appeared via video link at Westminster Magistrates’ Court from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London, dressed in a formal suit and sporting a thick beard, and showed no emotion as excerpts of the judgment were read out in court.
“I am satisfied that there is evidence upon which Nirav Deepak Modi could be convicted in relation [to] the conspiracy to defraud the PNB. A prima facie case is established,” the judge noted.
He similarly concludes a prima facie case to have been established on all counts of charges brought by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) — money laundering, intimidation of witnesses and disappearance of evidence.
“I am not required to exclude all Mr Modi’s various alternative theoretical possibilities and narratives; nor exclude his personal interpretation of the evidence, in order to find a prima facie case has been established,” the judge noted, referring to the extradition case of former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya as precedent.
He accepted that while Nirav’s mental health had deteriorated due to the lengthy incarceration in a London prison, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, his risk of suicide does not meet the high threshold to satisfy him that his mental state is such that it would be “unjust or oppressive” to extradite him.
Under the UK Extradition Act 2003, the judge will now send his findings to the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, Priti Patel. It is the UK Cabinet minister who is authorised to order an extradition under the India-UK Extradition Treaty and has two months within which to make that decision.
