PNB fraud case: Nirav Modi loses appeal to take extradition fight to UK Supreme Court

PNB fraud case: Nirav Modi, diamantaire and prime accused in the PNB fraud case, has lost his bid to take his extradition fight to the UK Supreme Court. He had moved the top court after losing the case in the UK High Court, which last month dismissed his appeal and ordered his extradition to India.

Today, London’s High Court refused Modi’s application to certify a “point of law of general public importance” and rejected his application for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court, Reuters reported. 

Nirav Modi and Mehul Chkosi are the two prime accused in the multi-crore bank fraud case. They are facing a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

As soon as the scam broke out, Nirav Modi fled the country. In March 2019, Modi was arrested in London at requests moved by Indian investigating agencies. Since then, he has been lodged at the Wandsworth prison in south-east London.

In February last year, Modi lost his case after District Judge Sam Goozee’s Westminster Magistrates court ruled that he should be extradited to India. 

India submitted requests for Modi’s extradition on 27 July 2018 in relation to the CBI proceedings and 24 August 2018 in relation to the ED proceedings. The requests were certified by the UK Home Office on 28 February 2019. Modi was arrested in March 2019. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 20 March 2019 and has been in custody at HMP Wandsworth since then.

Modi had challenged the district judge's extradition order on health grounds along with others. His counsel said that Modi would commit suicide if extradited to India. However, the UK High Court in its judgement noted that Modi neither is nor is very likely to be at the most severe end of the scale of depressive illness.

"He has so far displayed no features of psychotic illness. Although he has exhibited persistent suicidal ideation, he has neither attempted suicide or deliberate self-harm nor disclosed plans to do so, except in the most vague and general way," the court said.  

The high court further said that the risk of suicide in the present case is high enough and it is, therefore,
necessary to consider the effect of the assurances by the Indian government about the arrangements that will be put in place in the event of extradition. 

The GoI assurances are extensive and specific to meet the successive levels of concern that have been advanced on Modi's behalf, the court said, adding that the arrangements that the court is assured will be put in place are appropriate to his present and anticipated mental condition. "They are in a number of respects more comprehensive than the regime that has been implemented at HMP Wandsworth," the judgement said.

After considering all submissions, the court said it was far from satisfied that Modi’s mental condition and the risk of suicide are such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him.