London: Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi was granted permission by the High Court judge in London on Monday to appeal against a magistrates' court order in favour of extradition to India on mental health and human rights grounds. Modi's extradition is being sought to so that he can face charges of fraud and money laundering before the Indian courts.
Justice Martin Chamberlain delivered his verdict remotely under COVID-19 rules to conclude that the arguments presented by the 50-year-old diamond merchant's legal team concerning his "severe depression" and "high risk of suicide" were arguable at a substantial hearing.
He also noted that the adequacy of the measures capable of preventing "successful suicide attempts" at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where Nirav Modi is to be detained upon extradition, also fall within the arguable ambit.
"At this stage, the question for me is simply whether the appellant's case on these grounds is reasonably arguable. In my judgment, it is. I will grant permission to appeal on Grounds 3 and 4," Justice Chamberlain's ruling notes.
Grounds 3 and 4 relate to Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), or the right to life, liberty and security, and Section 91 of the UK's Criminal Justice Act 2003 related to fitness to plead.
The judge noted that the arguments made under both grounds overlap in this case as they both rely principally on the appellant, Nirav Modi's mental ill health.
"I will not restrict the basis on which those grounds can be argued, though it seems to me that there should be a particular focus on whether the judge was wrong to reach the conclusion he did, given the evidence as to the severity of the appellant's [Nirav Modi's] depression, the high risk of suicide and the adequacy of any measures capable of preventing successful suicide attempts in Arthur Road prison," the ruling notes.
