A UK court hearing the extradition case of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi on Thursday fixed his next remand hearing for June 27 and directed the Indian government to confirm within 14 days which prison he is to be held in if he were to be extradited.
Nirav, wanted in India over charges that he had defrauded Punjab National Bank to the tune of Rs 13,500 crore, was produced in the dock at the Westminster Magistrates Court before Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot for his first case management hearing on Thursday.
The 48-year-old, dressed in a blue shirt and black trousers, took notes. “There is no reason why it (India’s jail plans for Nirav) should not be answered within 14 days,” Judge Arbuthnot said, adding that Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai would be the “obvious candidate”.
Judge Arbuthnot, who ordered the extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya in December 2018, had sought a video of the cell in which he was to be held. She indicated that if Nirav was to be held within the same premises, the court would most likely not have any objections.
Nirav’s barrister, Clare Montgomery, agreed that unless it was the same cell, she would seek a court-appointed independent prison visit to ensure that the alternative met with human rights guidelines.