Nirav Modi to appear via videolink from prison for UK hearing
London: Fugitve diamantaire Nirav Modi is set to appear via videolink from prison for a routine remand hearing before Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Thursday.
The 48-year-old, who has been lodged at Wandsworth prison in south-west London since his arrest in March in connection with the nearly USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case, will be appearing for the first time since his bail appeal was rejected by the UK High Court earlier this month, his fourth attempt at bail.
In her judgment handed down at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Justice Ingrid Simler concluded there were substantial grounds to believe that Modi would fail to surrender as he does possess the means to abscond .
Reiterating similar concerns as those previously raised by Westminster Magistrates' Court during earlier bail attempts, Judge Simler ruled that after considering all the material carefully , she had found strong evidence to suggest there had been interference with witnesses and destruction of evidence in the case and concluded it can still occur.
"The applicant has access to considerable financial resources, supported by an increased (bail bond security) offer of 2 million pounds, the judge noted.
The High Court judge stressed that while it was not for her to take a "definitive view" on the evidence, she had proceeded on the basis that the government of India has acted in good faith in what is undoubtedly a serious case and a sophisticated international conspiracy to defraud, together with money laundering.
Modi, who has remained in judicial custody since his arrest in March, had the automatic right to file an application in the higher court and did not require permission to appeal.
Meanwhile, the first case management hearing in his extradition case took place at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 30, when Judge Emma Arbuthnot directed the Indian government to confirm which prison Modi is to be held in if he were to be extradited to India, setting a 14-day deadline for a confirmation of the prison plans in India.
The UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), representing the Indian government, has until July 11 to present an opening position statement laying out the prima facie case against Modi, with the next case management hearing set for July 29 when a timeline for extradition trial is expected to be laid out.
Modi was arrested by uniformed Scotland Yard officers on an extradition warrant on March 19 and has been in prison since. During subsequent hearings, Westminster Magistrates' Court was told that Modi was the "principal beneficiary" of the fraudulent issuance of letters of undertaking (LoUs) as part of a conspiracy to defraud PNB and then laundering the proceeds of crime.
Under UK law, Modi is expected to be produced before the court every four weeks, with another remand hearing expected before the July 29 case management hearing currently fixed in the court's calendar.
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Wholesale price inflation rises to 8-month high of 0.83 pc in December
New Delhi (PTI): Wholesale price inflation increased for the second month in a row, rising 0.83 per cent in December 2025, driven by an uptick in prices of food, non-food articles, and manufactured items on a month-on-month basis, government data showed on Wednesday.
After witnessing a deflationary trend in the previous two months, the wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation returned to positive in December. In November and October, the pace of price rise was negative at (-) 0.32 per cent and (-) 1.02 per cent, respectively.
In contrast, WPI inflation was 2.57 per cent in December 2024.
"Positive rate of inflation in December 2025 is primarily due to an increase in prices of other manufacturing, minerals, manufacture of machinery and equipment, manufacture of food products, and textiles, etc," the industry ministry said in a statement.
According to WPI data, deflation in food articles was 0.43 per cent in December, as against 4.16 per cent in November.
In vegetables, deflation was 3.50 per cent in December, compared to 20.23 per cent in November.
Barclays India Chief Economist Aastha Gudwani said narrowing deflation in "food articles" and a rise in inflation in "manufacturing products" drove the increase in the headline WPI inflation in December. "We expect modest increases in WPI inflation to continue".
In case of manufactured products, WPI inflation inched up to 1.82 per cent from 1.33 per cent in November 2025.
The non-food articles category showed an inflation of 2.95 per cent in December, against 2.27 per cent in November.
Negative inflation or deflation continued in the fuel and power sectors, at 2.31 per cent in December, against 2.27 per cent a month ago.
ICRA Senior Economist Rahul Agrawal said led by the hardening in YoY food inflation owing to an unfavourable base, rise in global commodity prices, and sustained pressure on the USD/INR pair over the past few months, ICRA expects the YoY WPI inflation to rise to 1.5 per cent in January, the highest level in 10 months.
Data released earlier this week showed the country's retail inflation inching up to 1.33 per cent in December, from 0.71 per cent in November, driven by rising food prices.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced policy interest rates by 1.25 percentage points in the current fiscal year as inflation remained low.
The Reserve Bank, last month, significantly lowered the inflation projection for the current fiscal to 2 per cent from 2.6 per cent estimated earlier, as the economy continues to witness rapid disinflation.
The RBI mainly tracks retail inflation for deciding on benchmark interest rates.
Last month, the RBI cut key policy interest rates by 25 bps to 5.25 per cent, saying that the Indian economy is in a "rare Goldilocks period" marked by high growth and low inflation.
The Reserve Bank has raised its FY26 GDP growth projection to 7.3 per cent, from an earlier estimate of 6.8 per cent. India recorded an 8.2 per cent growth in the September quarter, and 7.8 per cent in the June quarter.
