UK High Court rejects Nirav Modi's extradition plea

Nirav Modi has lost the first stage of his extradition appeal in the High Court here, just over two months after the wanted diamond merchant's extradition to India was ordered by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in the estimated two-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case. The case was before a High Court judge for a decision "on the papers" submitted for the appeal to determine if there are any grounds for an appeal against the Home Secretary's decision on April 16 or the Westminster Magistrates Court February ruling in favour of Modi's extradition to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering.

A High Court official confirmed that the permission to appeal was "rejected on paper" on Tuesday, which leaves the 50-year-old jeweller with a chance for his lawyers to make his case at a brief oral hearing in the High Court with a renewed "leave to appeal" application for a judge to determine if it can proceed to a full appeal hearing.

Under the legal guidelines, Modi, as an appellant, has five business days to apply for such an oral consideration, giving him time until next week. If a renewal application is made, it will be listed before a High Court judge for a hearing. It is understood that Modi plans to make such an application.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which appears in court on behalf of the Indian authorities, said it is waiting for the next stage in the process. "If they are allowed to appeal then we would contest any appeal proceedings on behalf of the GOI [government of India]," the CPS had said last month. Meanwhile, Modi remains behind bars at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest over two years ago on March 19, 2019. In his ruling in February, District Judge Sam Goozee concluded that the diamond merchant has a case to answer before the Indian courts and that the bars to extradition under UK law do not apply in his case. As part of a very comprehensive judgment, the judge concluded that he was satisfied that there is evidence upon which Modi could be convicted in relation to the conspiracy to defraud the PNB. "A prima facie case is established," he said, in relation to all counts of charges brought by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) – including money laundering, intimidation of witnesses and disappearance of evidence.