New Delhi: Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi on Wednesday, November 9, lost his appeal against extradition to India, which he had sought on mental health grounds. In effect, India can proceed against him to bring him back although he still enjoys relief in the form of further appeals in the UK and European courts.The process to bring back, therefore, is cumbersome, and not necessarily a speedy one, according to PTI.The High Court in London in its latest order on Wednesday ruled that his risk of suicide is not such that “it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him” to face charges of fraud and money laundering.Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Justice Robert Jay, who presided over the appeal hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice earlier this year, said in their verdict that district judge Sam Goozee’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court order from last year in favour of extradition was sound.The leave to appeal in the High Court had been granted on two grounds related to mental health under Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and Section 91 of the Extradition Act 2003.The 51-year-old fugitive diamond merchant has the option of further appeals in the UK and European courts and the process to bring him back to stand trial in India is unlikely to be a speedy one.“Pulling these various strands together and weighing them in the balance so as to reach an overall evaluative judgment on the question raised by Section 91, we are far from satisfied that Mr. Modi’s mental condition and the risk of suicide are such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him,” states the ruling, handed down remotely.“It may be that the main benefit of the appeal has been to obtain the extensive further [Indian government] assurances that we have identified in the course of this judgment, which render the position clear to Mr. Modi’s advantage and the District Judge’s decision supportable,” the judges ruled.Their verdict also finds every reason to accept that the government of India (GOI) will treat its assurances with “appropriate seriousness”, enhanced by the fact that it is a high-profile case so that the care of Nirav Modi, who remains behind bars at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest in March 2019, is likely to be subject to heightened scrutiny at all times.“The GoI will surely appreciate that a failure to honour its assurances would be liable to have a significant adverse effect on the mutual trust that forms the basis of the extradition regime to which India and the United Kingdom are parties,” the judges said.The judgment notes three sets of criminal proceedings against the diamantaire in India: the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case of fraud on the Punjab National Bank (PNB) which caused losses equivalent to over GBP 700 million; the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) case relating to the alleged laundering of the proceeds of that fraud; and a third set of criminal proceedings involving alleged interference with evidence and witnesses in the CBI proceedings.Then UK home secretary, Priti Patel, had ordered Nirav’s extradition based on Judge Goozee’s ruling in April last year and the case had been undergoing an appeals process since then.The High Court ruling this week accepts that Nirav’s risk of suicide in the event of extradition may be characterised as high or substantial but concludes that the risk of deterioration of the underlying depression and the risk of suicide cannot be considered in a vacuum.“On the basis of the assurances that the GoI has given, we accept that there will be suitable medical provision and an appropriate plan in place for the management and medical care of Mr. Modi, which will be provided in the knowledge that he is a suicide risk (i.e. a person who, in the absence of preventative measures, may or will attempt suicide and will or may succeed),” the ruling states.“The evidence does not support a finding that the assured steps will eliminate the risk that Mr. Modi will commit suicide altogether, still less the risk that he will attempt to do so,” it notes.“Based on expert witness testimony,” the verdict concludes that “Nirav has so far displayed no features of psychotic illness and although he has exhibited persistent suicidal ideation, he has neither attempted suicide or deliberate self-harm nor disclosed plans to do so, except in the most vague and general way.”It is common ground that his recurrent depressive disorder is likely to deteriorate in the event of extradition, the ruling concedes.However, it also acknowledges the safety measures assured at Barrack 12 of Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where he is to be lodged upon being extradited, which will ensure that there is effectively constant monitoring to reduce the risk of attempted suicide.As he has lost this appeal hearing, Nirav Modi can approach the Supreme Court on a point of law of public importance, to be applied to the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision within 14 days of a High Court verdict. However, this involves a high threshold as appeals to the Supreme Court can only be made if the High Court has certified that the case involves a point of law of general public importance.Finally, after all avenues in the UK courts are exhausted, the diamantaire could still seek a so-called Rule 39 injunction from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).Therefore, the process of bringing him back to India to be lodged at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai and stand trial for fraud and money laundering amounting to an estimated $2 billion in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case still has some way to go. His legal team is yet to comment on any plans to appeal the High Court verdict.Nirav Modi had escaped from India on January 1, 2018 days before the scam surfaced. A non-bailable arrest warrant was issued by the trial court against Modi on May 23, 2018 and a red notice was also issued against him on June 29, 2018 by Interpol.Weeks after Nirav Modi had scooted away, the CBI registered the case on January 31, 2018, against the partner of three private firms and others including then officials of the PNB on a complaint.The bank had alleged that the accused had hatched a criminal conspiracy amongst themselves to defraud the Punjab National Bank to the tune of Rs 6,498 crore (approx) through fraudulent issuance of Letters of Undertaking not entered in the Bank’s software to avoid scrutiny. The amount was found to be Rs 6,805 crore during the probe.Investigation showed that the accused officials of the Punjab National Bank, in conspiracy with said owners of the firms and others, had fraudulently issued a large number of LoUs to overseas banks for obtaining buyer’s credit in favour of said three firms without any sanctioned limit or cash margin and without making entries in the CBS system of the bank.The first charge sheet was filed on May 14, 2018 against 25 accused including Nirav Modi. The second charge sheet was filed on December 20, 2019 against 30 accused people including the 25 chargesheeted earlier in respect of 150 outstanding fraudulent LoUs.It was also alleged that Nirav Modi in conspiracy with other accused had siphoned off the funds obtained as buyer’s credit through dummy companies established by him in Dubai and Hong Kong which were shown as exporters of Pearls to three Nirav Modi firms and importers of Pearl studded jewellery from his firms.A non-bailable arrest warrant was issued by the trial court against him followed by a red corner notice in June 2018 by Interpol.The first extradition request was sent by the CBI to the United Kingdom for the extradition in August 2018 for defrauding Punjab National Bank.He was arrested by the UK Police in London in March 2019 and his repeated applications for bail were rejected by the Westminster Magistrates’ Court and High Court, London.After the second charge sheet was filed, additional evidence was submitted to the Court in London for the total fraud amount of Rs 6,805 crore.CBI says testimonies of experts were crucialTestimonies by two psychiatric experts during final hearings in the Nirav Modi extradition matter before the High Court were crucial in debunking his poor psychological state argument and clinching the case for India, officials said.During the final hearing, the experts – professor Andrew Forrester of Cardiff University and professor Seena Fazel of the University of Oxford – gave evidence before the High Court which dismissed the appeal filed by Modi, the officials said.Based on expert witness testimony, the verdict concludes that Nirav Modi has so far displayed no features of psychotic illness and although he has exhibited persistent suicidal ideation, he has neither attempted suicide or deliberate self-harm nor disclosed plans to do so, except in the “most vague and general way”, the court said.“Today’s judgment of the UK High Court is a significant achievement in the context of CBI’s efforts to curb corruption and is a reminder that fugitives, who have eluded the process of law after commission of large value frauds, cannot consider themselves above the process merely because they have changed jurisdictions,” the CBI said in a statement.The agency said it took painstaking efforts to effectively present the facts before the court, especially since Modi had raised various issues with regard to prison conditions, and the availability of health facilities in India among other arguments.It acknowledged continuous efforts made by the counsel of the Crown Prosecution Service in forcefully presenting the Government of India’s case.It also lauded the efforts of various government agencies, especially officers of the High Commission of India, London, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs in coordinating the extradition trial, timely submission of evidence and assurances, and prompt follow-up of the case at all stages.(With PTI inputs)Note: Additional details were added to this story after it was published.