London, February 25
The UK judge who handed down his judgment on Thursday in favour of the extradition of Nirav Modi to face charges of fraud and money laundering in India said he had found no evidence of adverse political influence in the case, as claimed by the diamond merchant’s legal team.
In support of their claims, Modi’s lawyers had deposed retired Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju – of whom District Judge Samuel Goozee was highly critical and dubbed the evidence as “less than objective and reliable”.
“Albeit, some political commentary could be described as ill-advised, there is nothing in the volumes of media, broadcasting or social media links that have been referred to me in the voluminous defence bundles that gives any indication that politicians are trying to influence the outcome of any trial, let alone NDM’s (Nirav Deepak Modi) trial or that the trial process itself would be susceptible to such influence,” Justice Goozee notes.
PNB scam case: Nirav Modi loses extradition fight, UK judge rules he has case to answer in India dtnext.in - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dtnext.in Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A UK judge on Wednesday ruled that fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi can be extradited to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering in the PNB scam. Here's a timeline of the $2 billion fraud case.
Updated Feb 25, 2021 | 20:25 IST
A UK District court accepted that Nirav Modi has to face trial in India over fraud and money laundering charges in Rs 14,000-cr PNB scandal, adding that businessman may appeal against the order in High Court Nirav Modi  |  Photo Credit: IANS
The UK Westminster Magistrates Court in London, on Thursday, in its 83-page order struck down Nirav Modi s defence that he won t be given a fair trial in India. The court also junked another contention by Modi s defence team on his mental health worsening due to pandemic and potential human rights violation in India. There is no evidence that if extradited Nirav Modi will not get justice, said UK court, striking down Modi s defence that the latter will not get a fair trial.