Guwahati: The London High Court on Wednesday rejected Nirav Modi’s appeal and ordered the extradition of the wanted diamond trader to India to face fraud and money laundering accusations.
Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Justice Robert Jay, who presided over the appeal hearing earlier this year, made up the bench that rendered the decision.
Fugitive Nirav Modi left India after defrauding Punjab National Bank (PNB) of Rs. 13,500 crores.
Modi was given permission to file an appeal against the decision of Westminster Magistrates’ Court District Judge Sam Goozee, who favoured his extradition to India, in February.
He cited his mental health as justification for his appeal.
The High Court allowed Modi to appeal on two grounds: Section 91 of the Extradition Act of 2003, which also dealt with mental illness, and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which allowed for hearings on the question of whether extraditing Modi would be “unjust or oppressive.”
In addition to the money laundering case, the CBI case now includes allegations against him for “causing the removal of evidence” and “intimidating witnesses.”