In the first step towards extradition of fugitive Ravi Shankaran, key accused in Navy War Room leak case, a london court has approved a CBI plea for his trial in India and has referred the matter to Britain’s Secretary of State for further orders in the matter.
The British court rejected his plea against extradition after the CBI gave an assurance that it will not oppose his bail plea once he is extradited to India.
Shankaran, 48, a relative of former Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash, had listed denial of bail in India among the reasons for opposing his extradition to this country, CBI sources said.
Reacting to the development, the CBI said his extradition will enable fair trial and strengthen agency’s probe in the case. The agency also justified its stand of not opposing Shankaran’s bail plea as he has already been chargesheeted in the case. He is only required to face trial here.
Agency sources said plans were afoot to send a team to the UK to bring him back once all legal formalities of that country were completed as Shankaran, against whom an Interpol Red Corner notice is pending, may be opposing the decision of the British Home Secretary in the court there.
District Judge Nicholas Evans had clarified in his order on Wednesday that an appeal can now only be made on the decision of the Secretary of State, who has been given two months time to decide on the extradition request.
Shankaran, a retired naval commander, was arrested in london in May 2010. He was given conditional bail there. He is one of the key accused in the case of leaking classified information from the War Room to international arms dealers. He has been absconding since the case was registered by CBI in March 2006. His passport was revoked on May 1, 2006 and an Interpol Red Corner Notice was secured against him in July that year.
In its judgement, the london court dismissed Shankaran’s plea that CBI had gone “out of the way to cover up false and fabricated evidence” saying his claims have “no merit whatsoever.”
The judge also said extradition hearings are bound by good faith between sovereign states and he is confident that if the prosecution in India no longer felt there was “credible and admissible” evidence against the accused, then it was their duty to end the proceedings and withdraw the extradition request.