Guwahati: The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on Thursday rejected Nirav Modi’s appeal against being extradited to India.
Lord Justice Stuart Smith in his statement said, “the appellant’s application for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court is refused.”
The diamantaire claims there is a great risk of suicide if he is extradited because he left India in 2018 before information about his suspected role in widespread fraud at the Punjab National Bank became public.
Nirav Modi submitted a request to the UK Supreme Court in November asking for permission to appeal against his extradition to India. He lost the appeal on Thursday to take his fight against extradition to the UK Supreme Court.
Two weeks after a UK judge rejected his appeal against extradition back to India, Nirav Modi reportedly filed an application in the High Court of London asking permission to appeal against his extradition order.
On November 9, Nirav Modi’s appeal against his extradition to India was unsuccessful, and a British court rejected his request. Earlier, Nirav Modi’s appeal was rejected by the High Court of London (United Kingdom). Nirav Modi is sought by Indian authorities on suspicion of money laundering and fraud.
The UK High Court’s decision to dismiss Nirav’s appeal was afterwards praised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
“India has been vigorously pursuing the extradition of economic fugitives so that they face justice in India. We welcome the decision of the UK High Court. We want to bring him to India as soon as possible,” said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi during a press conference.
The main suspect in the Rs 13,500 crore PNB scandal, Nirav Modi, had left India. He filed a motion with the London High Court to prevent extradition on the basis of mental illness, but he lost his appeal.
There are “no symptoms of psychotic disease,” according to the High Court’s bench of Justices Stuart Smith and Robert Jay.
“Nirav Modi neither is nor is highly likely to be at the most severe end of the scale of depressive disorder,” the court said, rejecting the assertions made by Nirav Modi’s attorney that his client will commit suicide as a result of severe depression.
“He has so far displayed no features of psychotic illness. Although he has exhibited persistent suicidal ideation, he has neither attempted suicide nor deliberate self-harm nor disclosed plans to do so, except in the vaguest and general way,” the court said.
The High Court also took note of the actions made to make Barrack 12 safe and to guarantee that there is efficient round-the-clock supervision to lessen the possibility of attempted suicide as well as the likelihood of suicide being committed.
The appeals court stated that Nirav Deepak Modi, the appellant, was sought after by the Indian government.
Last year, Nirav Modi filed a petition with the UK High Court to overturn a Westminster Magistrate Court decision supporting his extradition, which was made by District Judge Sam Goozee. He is currently imprisoned in southeast London’s Wandsworth Prison.