From US to India: Timeline of extradition of 26/11 Mumbai attack plotter Tahawwur Rana
Tahawwur Rana is a co-conspirator of the November 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai and the first of nine named accused in a chargesheet filed by the NIA in December 2011 as part of its probe into the 26/11 terror attack.
Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana on Thursday was extradited from the US to India. He will arrive on a special flight, which is scheduled to land at Palam Airport in Delhi today and will be immediately taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The 64-year-old will be transferred to a high-security cell in Delhi's Tihar Jail.
Tahawwur Rana is a Pakistani-Canadian national, and a key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in which 166 people were killed.
He is known to have links to Pakistan's Army and its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
He is a co-conspirator of the November 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai and the first of nine named accused in a chargesheet filed by the NIA in December 2011 as part of its probe into the 26/11 terror attack.
He will also undergo a trial at a special NIA court in Delhi. His case will be heard at the Patiala House Court.
Timeline: Tahawwur Rana’s extradition from the US to India
3 October 2009: FBI arrests David Coleman Headley
18 October 2009: FBI arrests and indicts Tahawwur Rana
March 2010: Headley pleads guilty to all 12 counts
9 June 2011: Jury convicts Rana and Headley for conspiring to “behead employees” of a Danish newspaper. The same jury acquitted Rana on charges related to 26/11 attacks due to lack of evidence.
17 January 2013: A District Court in the Northern District of Illinois, in the US, sentenced Rana to prison for 14 years.
28 August 2018: Special NIA court in India, hearing the 26/11 attack case, issues warrant for Rana’s arrest.
9 June 2020: Based on a health review in light of pandemic, a district court in the US grants Rana release on 'compassionate grounds'.
10 June 2020: The US government seeks an arrest warrant for Rana under the India-US extradition treaty and grants the request on 21 July 2020.
13 August 2020: India files additional documents highlighting offences allegedly committed by Rana.
16 May 2023: California's Magistrate Court clears Rana’s extradition to India.
10 August 2023: A District Court in the US denies Rana’s petition challenging the order of extradition.
18 August 2023: District Court stays proceedings citing Rana’s pending appeal before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
15 August 2024: US Court of Appeals affirms District Court’s order of extradition.
13 November 2024: Rana moves US Supreme Court seeking stay on extradition.
16 December 2024: The US government opposes Rana’s plea.
21 January 2025: US Supreme Court dismisses Rana’s plea.
28 February 2025: Rana moves another plea seeking a stay on the previous US Supreme Court order dismissing his plea.
11 February 2025: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signs Rana’s surrender to India.
2 March 2025: Rana moves supplementary application in US Supreme Court, citing observations made in extradition hearing of fugitive Sanjay Bhandari in the UK.
7 March 2025: Rana renewes his emergency application for stay and requests that it be directed to Chief Justice John Roberts.
7 April 2025: US Supreme Court dismisses Rana’s emergency application.
10 April 2025: Rana is extradited to India.
(With agency inputs)
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