India on Thursday said it will seek early extradition from the UK of jeweller Nirav Modi, wanted for his alleged involvement in the ₹14,000-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.
This comes after a UK court ruled that Modi could be extradited to India after dismissing arguments like his mental health worsening during the pandemic and poor Indian prison conditions, news reports said.
Thursday’s order is one more step to Modi’s extradition, but it could still take months before Indian authorities can bring him back given that there are many rounds of appeals that could come in the way.
“I am satisfied that Nirav Modi’s extradition to India is in compliance per human rights,” UK district judge Samuel Goozee was quoted as saying. He added that Modi had the right to appeal.
In New Delhi, foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said that since the Westminster Magistrate’s Court “has recommended Nirav Modi’s extradition to the UK Home Secretary, the government of India would liaise with the UK authorities for his early extradition to India.”
“There is no evidence that if extradited Nirav Modi will not get justice,” the UK judge said, agreeing with India’s submissions, according to the news reports.
He made it clear that he felt the case for the jeweller to face trial in India was strong and that Modi had clear links with “other connivers” including bank officials in faked letters of undertaking that facilitated the clearance of huge unpaid loans.
“I do not accept that Nirav Modi was involved in legitimate business. I find no genuine transactions and believe there is a process of dishonesty,” the judge was quoted as saying.
Nirav Modi, 49, appeared via video link from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court, the reports said.
“Albeit, some political commentary could be described as ill-advised, there is nothing in the volumes of media, broadcasting or social media links that have been referred to me in the voluminous defence bundles that gives any indication that politicians are trying to influence the outcome of any trial, let alone NDM’s (Nirav Deepak Modi) trial or that the trial process itself would be susceptible to such influence,” Goozee noted, according to PTI. “I reject any submission that the GoI (government of India) have deliberately engineered a media onslaught. I attach little weight to Justice Katju’s expert opinion,” he said.
Modi was arrested in 2019 from a metro station in London on an extradition warrant.
