Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Jul 28: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday reiterated that fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi will be extradited from the United Kingdom once the ongoing legal proceedings there are completed.

Responding to media queries during a weekly briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the extradition process would move forward after the conclusion of judicial proceedings in the UK.

"As far as Nirav Modi is concerned, certain judicial proceedings are currently underway in the UK. Once those legal proceedings are concluded, the process of his extradition will move forward," Jaiswal said.

He added that the Government of India was closely monitoring the case and maintained its position that all fugitive offenders should be brought back to India to face the judicial process.

In March, the High Court of Justice, King's Bench Division in London rejected Nirav Modi's petition seeking to reopen proceedings against the extradition order issued in his case.

The matter was argued by the Crown Prosecution Service with assistance from a dedicated Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team, including investigating officers who travelled to London for the hearing.

The application to reopen the case was based on the Bhandari judgment, a ruling delivered by the UK High Court in the case involving defence middleman Sanjay Bhandari.

Nirav Modi is wanted in India in connection with the Punjab National Bank fraud case, in which he is accused of using fraudulent guarantees issued in the name of the state-run lender to secure overseas loans.

He left India in January 2018, shortly before the CBI began investigating the alleged scam.

After his arrest in the United Kingdom in 2019, British courts approved his extradition to India. The courts accepted assurances regarding his treatment in India, found no legal impediments to his extradition and dismissed his earlier appeals.