The London High Court on Wednesday ordered extradition of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering by rejecting his appeal.
The verdict was passed by a bench comprising Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Justice Robert Jay who presided over the appeal hearing earlier this year.
Fugitive Nirav Modi fled India after scamming Punjab National Bank (PNB) of Rs. 13,500 crores.
In February, Modi was granted permission to appeal against the ruling of District Judge Sam Goozee’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court who favored his extradition to India.
He made the appeal on the ground of his mental health.
Modi was granted to appeal in the High Court on two grounds- under Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) to hear arguments if it would “unjust or oppressive” to extradite Modi due to his mental state and Section 91 of the Extradition Act 2003, also related to mental ill health.
Apart from the money laundering case, he faces additional charges of ‘causing the disappearance of evidence’ and intimidating witnesses which were added to the CBI case.
