Way clear for bringing fugitive Nirav Modi to the country

The way to bring fugitive diamond trader Nirav Modi to India has been cleared. London's Westminster Magistrate Samuel Gooji has ordered the fugitive diamond trader Nirav Modi to be extradited to India for trial.

A local court in London has dismissed Nirav Modi's arguments such as Corona infection, poor health, weak evidence, fear of justice and the unfortunate situation in Indian prisons and allowed his reinstatement. However, Nirav has the opportunity to challenge a court decision in the High Court.

Rejecting Nirav Modi's application for repatriation, Regional Judge Samuel Gooji said Nirav Modi's dismissal was a human right. There is no concrete evidence to confirm the possibility of justice not being found in India. Not only this, the judge also rejected Nirav's claim of having weak evidence. In his judgment, he said that there is strong evidence of connivance of the accused including the bank officials in encashing the line of credit. Even Nirav Modi himself has written a letter to PNB, accepting the huge dues and repaying it quickly.

The judge also cast doubt on Nirav and his company's claim for legal business. The court made it clear in its ruling that Nirav had the right to appeal to the Supreme Court, but before that the UK Secretary of State would consider it. Nirav can apply to the Supreme Court within 14 days of the Secretary of State's decision. The CBI and ED are encouraged by the decision of the London Regional Judge. The chief executive said the court had issued a ruling against Nirav because of the strong evidence. The High Court or any other court cannot deny these evidence.

It was reported that in January 2018, Nirav had fled abroad with the Modi family after a  14 thousand crore rupees scam was leaked through PNB's Line of Credit. The CBI and ED had issued a red-card notice about him in evidence of Nirav's involvement in the investigation. In December 2018, Nirav was confirmed hiding in London. In March 2018, he was arrested in London. Similarly, the second accused in the scam, Mehul Choksi, had fled to Antigua. Although he has no agreement to deport Antigua, the government is pursuing negotiations to bring him back.

The judge will now send a copy of the order to Britain's Home Minister Preeti Patel. Under the Indo-UK extradition agreement, the cabinet minister is empowered to approve the extradition order and will have to decide on it within two months. The Home Minister does not usually reverse the court's decision. Here the Indian Foreign Ministry has said, we will talk to Britain. Nirav was arrested in 2019, many of his pleas for bail have been rejected from the High Court.