UK: The case involving fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi's appeal against his extradition to India began hearings in the UK high court on Tuesday. Nirav Modi was granted permission to fight his extradition from the United Kingdom to India to face fraud allegations earlier this month, claiming that returning to India would affect his mental health and put him at risk of suicide.
Modi's lawyers have always claimed that their client suffers from severe depression and that if he is held at Mumbai's Arthur Road jail pending his court appearance, he will not receive sufficient medical care. They claimed that his mental health had deteriorated during his detention at Wandsworth Jail in South London, following his arrest in London in March 2019 and the stringent prison limitations imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
They had also brought in a number of medical professionals to testify that Modi was in grave danger of committing suicide. Modi is accused of robbing the state-owned Punjab National Bank of more than USD 2 billion through a skillfully choreographed scam involving sham organisations and directors.
The Indian government has also charged him with witness intimidation and evidence destruction. Since his arrest in the British capital in March 2019, he has been imprisoned at Wandsworth Prison in London.
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