Alleging unfair trial in India, Justice Markandey Katju to testify Nirav Modi in UK court

Indian jurist and former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju is set to testify on Friday as a witness in a London court against the extradition of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi.

While Justice Katju will not talk about the merits of the criminal case against Modi, he will oppose the Indian government’s plea seeking his extradition on the grounds that Modi may not receive a “free and fair trial in India.” As per reports, Katju has reasoned that Modi has already been subjected to a “media trial” in India and that the environment here was hostile.

The former SC judge also questioned how will the Indian courts exercise impartiality in Nirav Modi’s case when Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had already declared him guilty.

The 49-year-old fugitive diamond merchant is fighting extradition charges related to the estimated USD 2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case brought by the Indian government at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London. Nirav Modi was arrested by Scotland Yard officers in London on 19 March 2019 on behalf of the Indian authorities.

READ | Nirav Modi Faces Politically Biased Trial In India, Alleges His Legal Team

Nirav Modi faces five-day extradition trial

Modi's extradition case brought by the Indian government opened for a five-day hearing in a UK court on Monday. He appeared via a video link dressed in a dark suit and sporting beard as the second leg of the trial got underway at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

Modi’s team sought to counter allegations of fraud by deposing witnesses to establish the volatility of the gems trade and that the LoUs were standard practice. On the second day of the trial, Nirav Modi’s legal team alleged that he is unlikely to get a fair trial in India due to the politicisation of his case and the diamond merchant faces a "high risk of suicide" due to the lack of adequate medical facilities in Indian prisons.

READ | Nirav Modi's Extradition Trial Resumes In UK Court

The court was told about a “marked decline” in his mental health at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London, where stricter coronavirus curbs have meant a lack of access to inhouse counselling facilities and very limited contact with family, with only 25 minutes allowed outside his cell in July.

Modi is subject to two sets of criminal proceedings, the first brought by the CBI relating to a large-scale fraud said to have been committed upon PNB and the ED case, relating to the laundering of the proceeds of that fraud.

READ | Nirav Modi Case: PNB Recovers USD 3.25 Million As First Tranche From USA

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