The UK High Court has rejected fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi's appeal against extradition on mental health grounds to India to face money laundering and fraud charges.

Modi and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, are the main accused in the Punjab National Bank scam and they both left India before the details of the fraud came to light on January 16, 2018.

The court ruled that his suicide risk is not such that it would be either oppressive or unjust to extradite him to India.

Justice Robert Jay and Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith, who presided over the appeal hearing, in

Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Justice Robert Jay, who presided over the appeal hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice earlier this year, said in their verdict that District Judge Sam Goozee’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court order from last year in favour of extradition was "sound".

"Pulling these various strands together and weighing them in the balance so as to reach an overall evaluative judgment on the question raised by Section 91, we are far from satisfied that Mr Modi’s mental condition and the risk of suicide are such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him,” the ruling states.

"It may be that the main benefit of the appeal has been to obtain the extensive further

As he has lost this appeal hearing, Modi can approach the Supreme Court on a point of law of public importance, to be applied for to the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision within 14 days of a High Court verdict. However, this involves a high threshold as appeals to the Supreme Court can only be made if the High Court has certified that the case involves a point of law of general public importance.

Finally, after all avenues in the UK courts are exhausted, the diamantaire could still seek a so-called Rule 39 injunction from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Therefore, the process of bringing him back to India to be lodged at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai and stand trial for fraud and money laundering amounting to an estimated USD 2 billion in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case still has some way to go.

His legal team is yet to comment on any plans to appeal the High Court verdict. Meanwhile, Modi remains at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest in March 2019.

Last month, Indian law enforcement officials asked their UK counterparts to ‘expedite’ the extradition of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya and ‘locate’ other wanted persons, including Modi, during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 90th Interpol General Assembly in Delhi.

Recently, a UK court had ruled that Sanjay Bhandari, an accused middleman and consultant in arms deals, could be extradited to India to face charges of tax evasion and money laundering.

With PTI inputs

First Published:Nov 9, 2022 4:33 PM IST