Antwerp, Belgium, 18 December (H.S.): Belgium's Court of Cassation, the nation's supreme judicial authority, rejected fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi's final appeal Wednesday against extradition to India, affirming lower rulings that deem Mumbai's arrest warrants enforceable in the ₹13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.
Imposing €104 in costs, the five-judge panel—chaired by Filip Van Volsem—upheld the Antwerp Court of Appeal's October 17 verdict, finding Choksi's evidence insufficient to substantiate risks of torture, inhuman treatment, or judicial denial upon return. This clears procedural hurdles, initiating formal handover proceedings for the 66-year-old, detained since April 11 .
Choksi contested the Indictment Chamber's affirmation of November 29, 2024 pre-trial orders, citing an alleged Antigua kidnapping, Interpol's Commission for the Control of Files (CCF) 2022 Red Notice deletion, media bias, and presumed innocence breaches—none swaying Cassation's narrow remit of legal and procedural fidelity.
The apex court ruled appellate safeguards rectified any initial lapses, including non-disclosure of CCF findings, as adversarial hearings examined all submissions exhaustively. Charges—encompassing conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and corruption under IPC Sections 120B, 409, 420—mirror Belgian felonies warranting over one-year terms, sans evidence tampering count.
Choksi fled India January 2018, days pre-scam detection involving fraudulent Letters of Undertaking via PNB's Brady House branch, siphoning ₹6,400 crore through overseas banks like SBI Mauritius. India furnished custodial guarantees for Arthur Road Jail's Barrack 12—complete with sanitation and medicals—countering overcrowding claims, alongside human rights pledges.
Post-2022 CCF delisting, CBI pursued warrants sans Red Notice dependency, culminating in this breakthrough . Extradition now pivots to executive channels.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
