London court to hear Nirav Modi’s plea to re-open extradition trial over interrogation fear
A London court will hear fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi’s petition to reopen his extradition trial on November 23, because he may face interrogation by agencies if repatriated to India. However, agencies are likely to counter this claim with an assurance that he will not be questioned.
Modi, who has exhausted all his legal appeals till the Supreme Court, had approached the Westminster Court with a plea to reopen his extradition trial, understood to be because if extradited to India, he would be subjected to interrogation by various agencies, which may result in torture, they said.
The agencies investigating the matter may reiterate their previous assurance to the court that Modi, upon extradition, will be put on trial in accordance with Indian law and will not face any interrogation by the agencies. “We have already filed the charge sheets in the case. His questioning is not needed as of now. Our investigation is almost complete. He is needed to face the trial. In case the court in the United Kingdom asks us, we may reiterate our assurance that he will not be subjected to any interrogation if extradited to India. We have given such assurance in the past as well,” an official in the know of developments said.
All the investigative agencies that are working on cases against Modi — accused of siphoning off over `6,498 crore through hundreds of Letter of Undertakings issued fraudulently from Punjab National Bank — are on the same page that his interrogation is not needed. India has already told the UK that Modi would be kept in barrack 12 of the Arthur Road Prison in Mumbai, which has no threat of any violence, overcrowding, mistreatment and has a medical facility.
He would face trial in accordance with Indian laws, and no fresh charges will be slapped on him, the agencies have assured the UK. Once a shining star of the Indian jewellery business whose brand ‘Nirav’ attracted the attention of global celebrities, the 54-year-old diamantaire was arrested on an extradition warrant on March 19, 2019.
The then UK home secretary, Priti Patel, had ordered his extradition in April 2021. He has been in prison in London for nearly six years Modi has since exhausted his legal appeals in the case up to the Supreme Court and made several bail applications, which have all been turned down over his real and substantial flight risk.
Modi is facing three sets of criminal proceedings, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case of fraud involving the Punjab National Bank (PNB), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case relating to the alleged laundering of the proceeds of that fraud and a third set of criminal proceedings involving alleged interference with evidence and witnesses in the CBI proceedings.
