Nirav Modi
PNB Scam: Nirav Modi's lawyers raise serious concerns over his mental health in extradition trial in London
London/IBNS: On the third day of the five-day-trial of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi’s extradition hearing in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case at a court in the UK on Wednesday, his mental health and the prison conditions in India remained on the focus.
The five-day hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court being presided over by Justice Samuel Goozee will continue till September 11.
Nirav Modi remained indifferent and showed no reaction even as his defence team, led by barrister Clare Montgomery, argued against his extradition to India, describing the condition at Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai "incredibly hot", damp, dusty, insect and rodent-infested, and covered completely in a blue metallic cover since it housed a terrorist in 2007, she quoted testimony as saying, reported media.
Modi, 49, witnessed the court proceedings through a video link from Wandsworth Prison in London where he is lodged since his arrest in March 2019.
Besides Covid-19 situation and the risks linked to it, the battery of lawyers, appearing for Nirav Modi, made reference to a medical expert's report which underscored grave concerns around Modi's mental health.
Defence witnesses, including medical experts and UK-based prisons expert Dr Alan Mitchell, who appeared as a witness in the extradition case of former Kingfisher Airlines chief Vijay Mallya, will record their testimonies over the issues later this week, said an NDTV report.
They will be cross-examined by Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) barrister Helen Malcolm, who is representing the Indian government.
Modi faces extradition trials from two central agencies of India-- the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the other by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The court will need to decide if there is a prima facie case of fraud and money laundering as mentioned in the details provided by the Indian government before allowing his extradition to India.
The CBI has charged him with large-scale fraud upon PNB, through the fraudulent obtaining of Letters of Understanding (LOUs/loan agreements) of worth over Rs 11,300 crore, while the ED has registered cases in connection with the laundering of the proceeds of that fraud.
Modi has been also charged with two additional offenses ---create obstacles in the CBI probe by “causing disappearance of evidence” and intimidating witnesses (”criminal intimidation to cause death”).
Based on these two additional charges, the second extradition request has been raised in the UK court.
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