Nirav Modi Cites Suicide Risk, Lack of Mental Health Support In India In New Extradition Appeal

Fugitive diamantaire merchant Nirav Modi on Wednesday cited poor conditions of Indian jails and increased 바카라�risk" of depression that may lead to suicide as arguments in a fresh appeal against extradition in the UK. During the 바카라�renewal application바카라� hearing before Justice Martin Chamberlain, Nirav바카라�s lawyers sought to establish the grounds for a full High Court appeal hearing by claiming it would be oppressive to extradite him due to his mental condition that could lead to suicidal impulses.

The 50-year-old diamond merchant, wanted in India to face charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated USD 2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, observed the remotely held court proceedings from his Wandsworth Prison in south-west London as his lawyers argued for permission to appeal against his extradition ordered by District Judge Sam Goozee in February and certified by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in April.

Nirav바카라�s barrister Edward Fitzgerald argued that Judge Goozee made a 바카라�succession of errors바카라� in his ruling in favour of extradition in February, when he concluded that not only was Nirav바카라�s severe depression not unusual given his incarceration, but that he did not exhibit an immediate impulse to commit suicide.

바카라�The District Judge was wrong to hold that there was nothing unusual about the Appellant바카라�s (Nirav Modi) mental condition; and wrong to focus on his present fitness to plead,바카라� said Fitzgerald.

바카라�As to the District Judge바카라�s conclusion that 바카라�the Applicant바카라�s condition will improve on his return바카라� and 바카라�there will be an amelioration of his current conditions of detention바카라�, that finding was perverse on the evidence before him and unsustainable in the light of the new evidence. It was based on his assessment that the conditions in the prison at Arthur Road, Mumbai will be better than they are at HMP Wandsworth,바카라� he noted.

Nirav바카라�s lawyers relied on expert evidence from forensic psychiatrist Dr Andrew Forrester, presented previously at Westminster Magistrates바카라� Court in London.

바카라�In my opinion, Nirav Modi should now be considered at substantial (meaning high), albeit not immediate, risk of suicide,바카라� reads Forrester바카라�s assessment in his report dated August 27, 2020.

The lawyers also submitted fresh evidence to claim the COVID-19 pandemic is 바카라�overwhelming to the effect that the new outbreak of COVID renders the healthcare system on the brink of collapse바카라�.

Fellow barrister, Ben Watson, argued that Judge Goozee was led into error when making his ruling in favour of a prima facie case against Nirav over the "scope" and nature of the PNB scam conspiracy.

In relation to the Home Secretary바카라�s extradition order, it was argued that she should not rely on Indian government assurances.

바카라�She [Priti Patel] failed totally to address the evidence of other breaches of commitments made to both the UK and to third states,바카라� claimed Fitzgerald.

The renewal hearing is expected to conclude on Wednesday after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on behalf of the Indian authorities and the Home Secretary's counsel make their counter-arguments against permission to appeal, with a judgment likely at a later date on whether the case can proceed to a full appeal hearing in the High Court in London.

Nirav is the subject of two sets of criminal proceedings, with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case relating to a large-scale fraud upon PNB through the fraudulent obtaining of letters of undertaking (LoUs) or loan agreements, and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case relating to the laundering of the proceeds of that fraud.

He also faces two additional charges of "causing the disappearance of evidence" and intimidating witnesses or 바카라�criminal intimidation to cause death바카라�, which were added to the CBI case.

India is a designated Part 2 country by virtue of the Extradition Act 2003, which means it is the UK Cabinet minister who has the authority to order a requested person바카라�s extradition after all legal issues are dealt with in the courts.

With PTI inputs