London: Even as embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya has been granted permission to appeal against his extradition order in the UK High Court, India suffered another setback as its extradition request in a murder case was turned down by a court here. Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot of Westminster Magistrates' Court handed down her judgment in a case involving an Indian-origin British citizen Arti Dhir and her husband Kaval Raijada, wanted in India for the murder of their adopted 11-year-old boy Gopal and his brother-in-law. Judge Arbuthnot, incidentally the same judge who had found a prima facie case against Mallya in her ruling in favour of extradition in December 2018, "discharged" Dhir and Raijada on human rights grounds under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The judge did find that "there is a circumstantial prima facie case that Dhir and Raijada, acting together and with others, committed the offences". However, the judge also felt that the couple, if extradited, will be exposed to a real risk of being subjected to treatment which would be inhuman and degrading. This would be a breach of Article 3, notes Arbuthnot in her ruling. The Indian government had provided an assurance that the death penalty would not apply in their case and also given some additional assurances, which came in later than the timeframe stipulated by the court. The case dates back to 2017. Both Londoners are alleged to have adopted Gopal, an orphan farm boy from Gujarat, insured his life and then arranged for his murder. He was kidnapped and stabbed and he died from his injuries on February 11, 2017, near Rajkot. The boy was insured for around Rs 1.3 crores.
- Aditi Khanna
