INDIA BOUND? - Nirav's intricate web of lies finds no takers

"Pulling these various strands together and weighing them in the balance to reach an overall evaluative judgment on the question raised, we are far from satisfied that Mr Modi's mental condition and the risk of suicide are such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him," said the bench of Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Justice Robert Jay of London High Court on 9 November, while refusing to accept the contention of Nirav Deepak Modi that he was depressed and was likely to commit suicide if he were sent to India.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA NEW DELHI

The court had reserved its judgment on 12 October after hearing the arguments of Nirav Modi and the Government of India over two days.

Nirav Modi, along with his uncle, Mehul Choksi, is accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank (PNB) to the amount of a massive Rs 12,600 crore, much of which the duo took outside of India and which is still in the possession of their family members through various investments and assets. The proceeds of this scam are being used by the duo for their legal expenses. Choksi, in fact, purchased the citizenship of Antigua by using the scam money.

The two main factors that convinced the judges to send Nirav Modi to India-who was arrested by the London police on 19 March 2019 after escaping from India on 1 January 2018 just days before the scam came to lightwas the failure of his defence team to prove what is now being called a "fictional theory" that he was depressed to an extent that he would commit suicide if extradited and the detailed and extensive assurances that Government of India (GOI) gave to the court assuring that Nirav Modi, if extradited, would be "well kept" in the prison and that no authority would override or bypass the assurance that Gol had given.

Government of India assured the court, through two separate assurances, that in the event of Nirav Modi's extradition, he would be held at Barrack number 12, Arthur Road Jail, in Mumbai which is separate from the "general population". "Aside from matters of personal space and living conditions, medical facilities would be available 24/7, four medical officers, along with four nursing orderlies and two pharmacists, would also be available. There was a prison hospital with 20 beds and outside experts came in when required. There is a public hospital within 3 km of the prison," the judges, quoting the assurance given by Government of India through the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in June 2019 and September 2020, observed.