Suicide, Covid-19 risks in Mumbai prison focus of Nirav Modi extradition appeal

Nirav Modi faces a ldquosubstantial riskrdquo of suicide amid an ldquooverwhelmingrdquo impact of Covid19 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai where he will be lodged on being extradited the High Court in London was told during an extradition appeal hearing on WednesdayThe 50yearold diamond merchant wanted in India to face charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated USD 2billion Punjab National Bank PNB scam case observed the remotely held court proceedings from his Wandsworth Prison in southwest London as his lawyers argued for permission to appeal against his extradition ordered by District Judge Sam Goozee in February and certified by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in AprilDuring the ldquorenewal applicationrdquo hearing before Justice Martin Chamberlain Niravrsquos lawyers sought to establish the grounds for a full High Court appeal hearing by claiming it would be oppressive to extradite him due to his mental condition that could lead to suicidal impulsesNiravrsquos barrister Edward Fitzgerald argued that Judge Goozee made a ldquosuccession of errorsrdquo in his ruling in favour of extradition in February when he concluded that not only was Niravrsquos severe depression not unusual given his incarceration but that he did not exhibit an immediate impulse to commit suicideldquoThe District Judge was wrong to hold that there was nothing unusual about the Appellantrsquos Nirav Modi mental condition and wrong to focus on his present fitness to pleadrdquo said FitzgeraldldquoAs to the District Judgersquos conclusion that lsquothe Applicantrsquos condition will improve on his returnrsquo and lsquothere will be an amelioration of his current conditions of detentionrsquo that finding was perverse on the evidence before him and unsustainable in the light of the new evidence It was based on his assessment that the conditions in the prison at Arthur Road Mumbai will be better than they are at HMP Wandsworthrdquo he notedNiravrsquos lawyers relied on expert evidence from forensic psychiatrist Dr Andrew Forrester presented previously at Westminster Magistratesrsquo Court in LondonldquoIn my opinion Nirav Modi should now be considered at substantial meaning high albeit not immediate risk of suiciderdquo reads Forresterrsquos assessment in his report dated August 27 2020The lawyers also submitted fresh evidence to claim the Covid19 pandemic is ldquooverwhelming to the effect that the new outbreak of Covid renders the healthcare system on the brink of collapserdquoFellow barrister Ben Watson argued that Judge Goozee was led into error when making his ruling in favour of a prima facie case against Nirav over the scope and nature of the PNB scam conspiracyIn relation to the Home Secretaryrsquos extradition order it was argued that she should not rely on Indian government assurancesldquoShe Priti Patel failed totally to address the evidence of other breaches of commitments made to both the UK and to third statesrdquo claimed FitzgeraldThe renewal hearing is expected to conclude on Wednesday after the Crown Prosecution Service CPS on behalf of the Indian authorities and the Home Secretarys counsel make their counterarguments against permission to appeal with a judgment likely at a later date on whether the case can proceed to a full appeal hearing in the High Court in LondonNirav is the subject of two sets of criminal proceedings with the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI case relating to a largescale fraud upon PNB through the fraudulent obtaining of letters of undertaking LoUs or loan agreements and the Enforcement Directorate ED case relating to the laundering of the proceeds of that fraudHe also faces two additional charges of causing the disappearance of evidence and intimidating witnesses or ldquocriminal intimidation to cause deathrdquo which were added to the CBI caseIndia is a designated Part 2 country by virtue of the Extradition Act 2003 which means it is the UK Cabinet minister who has the authority to order a requested personrsquos extradition after all legal issues are dealt with in the courtsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever