Nirav Modi was declared a fugitive economic offender by India in December 2019. (PTI File photo)
From the next move in the Nirav Modi case to what the fugitive businessman can do to delay the matter further, a roundup of what’s making news at this time.
- News18.com London
- Last Updated:February 26, 2022, 00:32 IST
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Hush-hush: A step forward has been taken in the Nirav Modi extradition case, quietly. February 23 had been set as a date for directions from the appeals court to take the case towards a final order. As it turned out, directions were agreed privately between the two sides, without the need for a court sitting. And so now all that remains is a date on which the final order of the court will come on the basis of Nirav Modi’s appeal against extradition.
Mind matters: Nirav Modi’s appeal against extradition rests on the sole ground whether his mental health is such that can bear the stress of undergoing extradition and whether such a condition could be adequately treated in detention in India. The prima facie case of fraud was found valid by the trial court and by the appeals court. For extradition to be blocked on grounds of mental health would amount to a ruling by an English court that India lacks the medical means and the skills to treat such a condition.
Covid no more a factor: The long delay in the Nirav Modi extradition case has sent one of the defence arguments out of the window; that the Covid situation in India could be a reason to not send anyone there, particularly if a person is undergoing mental stress already. The Covid situation having cleared, that argument stands cleared out of the way. It would of course come back were there to be further delays in the case and if another mutation of the virus were to arise.
High time: The agreement on directions from the court will inevitably have meant agreement on a time frame in which to present final written arguments ahead of a court order. The two appeal judges at the London high court hearing the matter have said they were firmly agreed that Nirav Modi has been too long in prison already— he’s been lodged in Wandsworth Prison in London since March 19, 2019. Unless he wins his appeal earlier, he may well mark a third anniversary in prison.
Options open: As far as the extradition process goes, Nirav Modi would have the right to appeal to the European Court if he were to lose. That could at best gain him a few weeks no more. It’s hardly likely that the European Court would reject a judgement by the appeals court in London. Also, he has the theoretical right to appeal to the Supreme Court in the UK, but permission for that would almost certainly be denied were he to lose his appeal.
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