On Tuesday, a UK court opened a continuation appeal hearing in the extradition case of Nirav Modi, who is wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case worth an estimated $2 billion.

The 51-year-old diamond merchant appealed his extradition order last year on mental health grounds. Justices Jeremy Stewart-Smith and Robert Jay presided over preliminary hearings in the High Court in December to determine whether District Judge Sam Goozee’s Westminster Magistrate ruling in favour of extradition from February 2021 was incorrect, ignoring the “high risk of suicide” for Nirav Modi.

This week’s hearing is to continue the appeal, and a verdict could be expected soon. Suppose Nirav Modi wins his appeal hearing in the High Court. In that case, he cannot be extradited unless the Indian government successfully obtains leave to appeal in the Supreme Court on issues of law of public importance.

On the other hand, if he loses this appeal hearing, Nirav Modi can bring a legal issue of public importance to the Supreme Court within 14 days of the High Court’s decision to appeal the High Court’s decision to the Supreme Court appeal.

However, this involves a high threshold, as an appeal to the Supreme Court can only be made if the High Court proves that the case involves a question of law of general public importance.

Finally, after all, avenues in the UK courts have been exhausted, he can still seek a so-called Article 39 injunction from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

According to officials familiar with the case, the Indian government has given assurances about the conditions under which Nirav Modi will be detained after he surrenders to India and the facilities available to care for his “physical and mental health”. The parties will now decide on the adequacy and credibility of these assurances.
“He is already at high risk of suicide, and his condition may deteriorate further in Mumbai,” Edward Fitzgerald QC argued on behalf of Modi at an appeal hearing in December.

Meanwhile, Nirav Modi has been held at Wandsworth Prison in southwest London since his arrest in March 2019.
Nirav Modi is the subject of two criminal proceedings, the CBI case involving large-scale fraud against PNB through a fraudulent obtaining of Letter of Undertakings (LoUs) or loan agreements, and the ED case involving money laundering of the proceeds of the fraud.

He also faces two other charges of “causing evidence to disappear” and intimidating a witness or “criminal intimidation leading to death,” which were added to the CBI case.