The 51-year-old diamond merchant had lost an appeal on mental health grounds earlier this month, when a two-judge High Court bench ruled that his risk of suicide is not such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him to India to face charges in the estimated USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case.
Nirav, who remains behind bars at Wandsworth Prison in London, had two weeks to file an application seeking an appeal on the grounds of a point of law of general public importance, which according to experts is a high threshold that is not met very often.
It is unknown if and when the extradition may take place as Nirav still has legal challenges open to him, UK Home Office sources said.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), acting on behalf of the Indian authorities, have until December 5 to respond to the latest application following which the High Court will make a decision on whether to grant permission “on the papers” – or without a full hearing.
“If they refuse to certify a question and leave to appeal then that is the end of the road. If they certify a question but refuse leave, then he applies to the Supreme Court directly for permission,” the CPS said.
The entire process is expected to take several weeks and is…
