Fugitive Mehul Choksi challenges extradition in Belgium Supreme Court
New Delhi (PTI): Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi has challenged before Belgium's Supreme Court an October 17 ruling by the Antwerp Court of Appeal that had upheld India's request for his extradition, calling it "enforceable", officials said on Monday.
In response to queries sent by PTI, the public prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in Antwerp said Choksi filed an appeal in the Court of Cassation on October 30.
"This appeal is strictly limited to legal merits and will be judged by the Court of Cassation. During this procedure, the execution of the extradition is suspended," Advocate General Ken Witpas said in his response to PTI.
The Court of Cassation is the Supreme Court of Belgium.
On October 17, a four-member indictment chamber at the Court of Appeals in Antwerp found no infirmity in the orders issued by the pre-trial chamber of the district court on November 29, 2024, terming the arrest warrants issued by a Mumbai special court in May 2018 and June 2021 as "enforceable", allowing Choksi's extradition.
The Court of Appeals ruled that fugitive Choksi, the main accused in a Rs-13,000 crore PNB scam, faces "no risk" of being denied a fair trial or subjected to ill-treatment if he is extradited to India.
Of the total scam amount, Choksi alone has siphoned off Rs 6,400 crore, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged in its chargesheet.
Choksi, who escaped to Antigua and Barbuda in January 2018, days before the scam was detected, was spotted in Belgium, where he had purportedly reached for seeking treatment.
India sent an extradition request to Belgium on August 27, 2024, based on arrest warrants issued by the special court in Mumbai.
The public prosecutor at the Court of First Instance in Antwerp, Division Turnhout, initiated an action on November 25, 2024, seeking the enforcement of arrest warrants issued by the Mumbai court.
The pre-trial chamber of the Antwerp District Court, Turnhout Division, in its order dated November 29, 2024, declared that the arrest warrants against Choksi issued by the Mumbai court were enforceable, except for the order related to "causing the disappearance of evidence of the crime".
When Choksi appealed against this verdict in the Antwerp Court of Appeals it also rejected his claims that he personally faces a real, present and serious risk of being subjected to flagrant denial of justice, torture or inhuman and degrading treatment in India.
India has given a number of assurances to Belgium regarding Choksi's safety, the charges that he would face during trial in India, prison arrangements, human rights and medical needs.
The Court of Appeals had ruled that 66-year-old Choksi faces "no risk" of being denied a fair trial or subjected to ill-treatment if he is extradited to India.
Dismissing the appeal filed by Choksi against the district court, the Court of Appeals held that the businessman failed to provide "concretely plausible" evidence of a "genuine risk" of torture or denial of justice.
The order was a strong validation of India's case seeking his extradition, with Choksi having the option of appealing against the decision in Belgium's Supreme Court, the officials said.
The Court of Appeals has held that the documents Choksi submitted do not substantiate his claims that he is the subject of a political trial.
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LoP Ashoka targets CM govt over corruption, says being 'shameless' in public life not forgivable
Bengaluru (PTI): Targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government in Karnataka on corruption, BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday said, being foolish was forgivable, but being "shameless" in public life was not.
The Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly claimed that in just 30 months of its tenure, the Congress administration has broken every previous record on corruption-related controversies.
He was responding to Siddaramaiah's post on 'X' on Thursday hitting back at the BJP, stating that Upa Lokayukta Justice Veerappa's claims of "63 per cent corruption" were based on his report in November 2019, when BJP's B S Yediyurappa was the CM.
"But Ashoka, without understanding the Upa Lokayukta's statement properly, has ended up tying the BJP's own bells of sins onto our heads and has effectively shot himself in the foot," the CM had said, as he accused Ashoka of foolishness for trying to twist Veerappa's statement to target the current government.
Responding, Ashoka said, "it is one thing to be called foolish in politics, that can be forgiven."
"But in public life, especially in the Chief Minister's chair, one must never become shameless," Ashoka posted on 'X' on Friday addressing Siddaramaiah.
Noting that the CM himself had admitted on the floor of the Assembly that a Rs 87 crore scam took place in the Valmiki Development Corporation, he said that when a CM acknowledges such a massive irregularity inside the floor of the House, the natural expectation is immediate action and accountability.
"But instead of taking responsibility, you continue in office as if nothing has happened. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
Pointing out that the CM's Economic Advisor and senior Congress MLA Basavaraja Rayareddy had publicly stated that under Congress rule, Karnataka has become No.1 in corruption, Ashoka said, "Yet, you still cling to the Chief Minister's chair without a moment of introspection. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness."
Senior Congress MLA C R Patil had exposed the "money for House" racket in the Housing Department and even warned that the government would collapse if the details he has were made public, Ashoka said.
"Despite such serious allegations from within your own party (Congress), you neither initiated an inquiry nor acted against the concerned minister. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," Ashoka asked the CM.
Highlighting the "40 percent commission" allegation Congress made against the previous BJP government, the opposition leader said, the commission that the Siddaramaiah government appointed concluded that the accusation was baseless.
"After your own panel demolished your own claim, what moral right do you have to continue repeating that allegation. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
For the last two and a half years, Karnataka has been 'drowning' in corruption, scandals, irregularities and allegations across departments. Ashoka said, "If I begin listing every case that emerged under your government, even 24 hours would not be enough."
"And the most tragic aspect of your administration is this: the unbearable pressure, corruption demands and administrative harassment under your government pushed several officers and contractors into extreme distress - including the suicide of Chandrasekharan which exposed the Valmiki Development Corporation scam - a sign of how deeply broken the system has become under your watch," he said.
Instead of fixing this hopeless environment, the government has tried to bury every complaint and silence every voice, he charged.
"Being foolish is forgivable, but being shameless in public life is definitely not."
"When your own ministers admit scams, when your own advisors certify Karnataka as No.1 in corruption, and when your own MLAs expose rackets inside your departments - clinging to power without accountability is not leadership. It is shamelessness in its purest form." PTI KSU
Earlier on Thursday Ashoka had demanded that the corruption case and allegations in the state against the Congress government be handed over to a CBI investigation, citing a reported statement by Upalokaykta Justice Veerappa alleging "63 per cent corruption", following which Siddaramaiah hit back at the BJP leader.
