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Last Updated:May 18, 2025, 20:19 IST
Justice Fordham said the confidentiality imposes a significant limitation on what the court can evaluate when considering risks posed by Nirav Modi’s continued detention.
Despite Nirav Modi's legal team pulling every trick in the book, citing health issues, delays in proceedings, and time already served, his arguments failed to move the British court. File image
Nirav Modi Case: A London High Court judge who refused fugitive businessman Nirav Modi’s latest bail petition earlier this week citied a “confidential impediment" that continues to delay his extradition to India, who is accused of fraud and money laundering charges.
Justice Michael Fordham, presiding over the bail hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on Thursday, stated there are substantial grounds to believe that Nirav Modi, 54, would “fail to surrender" and his risk of absconding remained high if released on bail.
While Nirav’s barrister argued in favour of his bail from London’s Thameside prison based on the “long passage of time" without trial, the judge acknowledged a “confidential" legal obstacle that has prevented Modi’s extradition, despite the fact that the judicial process has otherwise concluded.
“There is a ‘legal reason’ related to ‘confidential proceedings’. Its nature is known to Nirav Modi and his legal team, and to the Home Office. Beyond what I have recorded, it is not known to the CPS, the Government of India, or this court," Justice Fordham said.
CPS barrister Nicholas Hearn, appearing on behalf of the Indian authorities, confirmed to the court that he “recognises and respects" the fact of the “existing confidential impediment" and the fact of its confidentiality, for “whatever reason it is being kept confidential".
The confidential proceedings, alluded to at various previous court hearings linked with Nirav Modi, are believed to refer to an asylum application, but the exact nature of the matter is unclear.
Justice Fordham said the confidentiality imposes a “significant limitation" on what the court can evaluate when considering the risks posed by Modi’s continued detention or release.
“I have had close regard to the points which have been made about the human cost of detention. That includes all of the points that have been advanced about physical and mental health, including in terms of deterioration and delays in treatment, and the concerns very properly raised in the clinicians’ expert evidence," Justice Fordham’s judgment said.
Nirav Modi — one of India’s most wanted in connection with the Rs. 6498.20 crore Punjab Bank loan fraud case — has been in a jail in UK since March 2019. This was his 10th bail petition.
“This was his 10th bail petition since his detention in the UK, which was successfully defended by the CBI through the Crown Prosecution Service, London," the probe agency said.
The UK High Court has already approved his extradition to India in the favour of the Indian government so he can face the law.
Nirav Modi’s uncle Mehul Choksi, a co-accused in the PNB fraud case, was last month arrested by the authorities in Belgium where he had gone for treatment.
Charges Against Nirav Modi
Nirav Modi had fled India in January 2018, weeks before the PNB scam surfaced and has been in a UK jail since March 2019.
The 55-year-old diamond merchant along with his uncle has been accused of siphoning off over Rs 13,000 crore from the PNB using fraudulent letters of undertaking and foreign letters of credit.
Officials at PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai issued letters of undertaking (LoUs) and foreign letters of credit (FLCs) to their firms without any sanctioned limit or cash margin and without making entries in the bank’s central system to evade any scrutiny in case of a default.
Based on the LoUs issued by the PNB, money was lent by the SBI, Mauritius; Allahabad Bank, Hong Kong; Axis Bank, Hong Kong; Bank of India, Antwerp; Canara Bank, Mamana; and SBI, Frankfurt.
Since the accused companies did not repay the amount availed against the said fraudulent LoUs and FLCs, PNB made the payments, including the overdue interest, to the overseas banks, which advanced buyer’s credit and discounted the bills against the fraudulent LoUs and FLCs issued by the PNB, the CBI alleged.
(With inputs from PTI)
Location :London, United Kingdom (UK)
First Published:News world 'Fail To Surrender...': UK Judge Notes 'Confidential Impediment' In Nirav Modi Extradition
