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London:
Nirav Modi’s psychological well being and the jail circumstances in India had been as soon as once more in focus throughout the fugitive diamond product owner’s extradition listening to associated to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) rip-off case at a court docket within the UK on Wednesday.
The third day of the five-day listening to at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, presided over by Justice Samuel Goozee, was dedicated to the defence laying out additional arguments towards a prima facie case of fraud and money-laundering towards Mr Modi, who noticed the court docket proceedings through videoconference from Wandsworth Prison in London.
The 49-year-old jeweller appeared significantly inanimate by way of most a part of the day, with the choose at one level pausing the listening to to examine if the video hyperlink had frozen and requested Mr Modi to maintain transferring infrequently so the court docket will be positive he’s nonetheless linked to the proceedings.
Mr Modi’s defence workforce, led by barrister Clare Montgomery, raised additional points across the circumstances at Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, the place he’s to be lodged on being extradited, claiming it’s lined in its entirety in a blue metallic cowl because it housed a terrorist in 2007. This makes the barrack “incredibly hot”, with different issues akin to damp, mud, bugs and rodents, she quoted testimony as saying.
Besides fears associated to a COVID-19 outbreak earlier within the yr, references had been additionally made to a medical skilled’s “addendum report” which highlighted “much more serious” considerations round Mr Modi’s psychological well being.
UK-based prisons skilled Dr Alan Mitchell, who has beforehand given witness statements within the extradition case of former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya, and the medical skilled are amongst a set of defence witnesses scheduled to provide stay proof in court docket over these points later this week.
They shall be cross-examined by Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) barrister Helen Malcolm, who’s arguing on behalf of the Indian authorities.
During Wednesday’s listening to, Mr Modi’s defence workforce additionally claimed their shopper had been the topic of a “trial by media” and wouldn’t obtain a good trial in India. After the choose had turned down a defence request earlier this week to permit retired Indian excessive court docket choose Abhay Thipsay to provide his video hyperlink skilled assertion privately, his written assertion was briefly offered in court docket to focus on assertions towards the admissibility of sure proof offered by the Indian authorities.
Mr Thipsay’s testimony questions whether or not the statements offered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) meet the “statutory requirements” beneath Indian legislation and raises doubts over whether or not sure alleged actions, such because the destruction of cellphones, “amount to disappearance of evidence”.
Mr Modi is topic to 2 units of legal proceedings, the primary introduced by the CBI regarding a large-scale fraud mentioned to have been dedicated upon PNB and the ED case, regarding the laundering of the proceeds of that fraud. An additional extradition request was made in February this yr of two extra offences of the disappearance of proof and intimidating a witness.
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