The Nirav Modi saga

Nirav Modi was arrested in March 2019 from a Metro Bank branch near the Holborn station in Central London. He had gone there to open a bank account. However, a bank employee recognised him, panicked, and called the police. The bank employee did not know that Nirav Modi's legal team had negotiated an "arrest by arrangement" with the extradition unit of the Metropolitan Police. What this meant was that at an agreed date and time Nirav Modi would present himself to the cops who would then produce him at the Westminster Magistrates' court.  

But for Nirav Modi, evidently, nothing worked as per his plans. Forget "arrest by arrangement", he did not even manage to get bail. From 2019 till date he has remained in prison. Not the most ideal position, but at least he has managed to stall his extradition to India. On 25 March, 2026 came the judgment by Lord Justice Stuart Smith and Justice John Jay wherein they rejected his bid to reopen his extradition appeal. In 2022, the same judges had rejected his attempt to appeal Judge Samuel Goozee's (Westminster Magistrates' Court) ruling which had found no bar to his extradition to India.

Although the March 2026 ruling effectively means the end of the road for Nirav Modi it still remains to be seen whether he will be sent to India. When this ruling came, Nirav Modi was being produced in courtroom 9 of the Royal Courts of Justice where he is facing a trial brought by Bank of India, London branch. He was quite focussed on the trial and on Thursday, 26 March, 2026 when I asked him to comment on the latest extradition order all he said was "no comment". His body language was anything but a picture of dejection or anxiety!

For the longest time his extradition was stalled by virtue of a confidential application before the UK home office. In December 2025, Helen Malcolm, KC, appearing for Government of India through the CPS told the court that her understanding was that Nirav Modi's confidential application was rejected in August 2025, which perhaps explains why he was seeking to reopen his extradition appeal. This was of course rejected by Edward Fitzgerald, KC, who was representing Nirav Modi. 

However, it was not that Nirav Modi did not have a case to make. Fitzgerald cited the Sanjay Bhandari extradition case where the high court ruled that Bhandari's extradition would violate his human rights due to the risk of torture in Indian prison (Tihar). Bhandari judgment came in February 2025, which was highlighted as changing the India-UK extradition terrain, making it imperative to revisit the Nirav Modi decision.

While the 25 March 2026 judgment has gone against Nirav Modi it does mention that torture seems to be endemic in India. It was the assurances provided by Amit Kadam, of the CBI and Nishta Tiwari, joint secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, GOI that tilted the case against Nirav Modi. Fitzgerald's argument was that Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) have cases registered against Nirav Modi and once he was extradited would seek to interrogate him. The assurances, said Fitzgerald, covered only the CBI and ED.

At one point, Malcolm in the form of rhetorical question asked whether Fitzgerald would have not objected if instead of a sovereign assurance all the five agencies had given individual assurances? It would have been raised that there is no sovereign assurance and only individual assurances from agencies. She impressed upon the court that India had given a sovereign assurance which covers all investigative bodies. When Fitzgerald pressed that agencies were independent in India and they could seek Nirav Modi's interrogation, Malcolm pointed out that in the past the defence has spoken of CBI as a caged parrot and were now describing them as independent because it suited their argument.

What next   

It is not that individuals have not been extradited to India from the UK. The case of Nirav Modi can be said to be different because he has deep pockets and has access to the best legal minds. Clearly, Nirav Modi does not fancy being in Arthur Road jail. 

He will try to appeal the 25 March 2026 judgment before an appeal court which is easier said than done. In the past his attempt to approach the UK Supreme Court has been unsuccessful. So clearly, this is a resounding judicial victory for India. 

The critical question remains - will Nirav Modi be extradited to India?

To read more about Nirav Modi and other - Vijay Mallya, Nadeem, Iqbal Mirchi - extradition cases refer to my book: Escaped - Trues Stories of Indian fugitives in London