What is the story about?
Belgium’s top court has rejected fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi’s appeal against India’s extradition request, endorsing a lower court’s finding that
he faces no real risk of denial of justice, torture or inhuman treatment if sent back to India. In an order released Wednesday, the Court of Cassation upheld the view of the Indictment Chamber of the Antwerp Court of Appeal, which had ruled that Choksi failed to show a “real, present and serious risk” of being subjected to “flagrant denial of justice” or to torture or inhuman and degrading treatment in India. The court also imposed costs of 104 euros on Choksi.
The ruling clears a major legal hurdle for India in its efforts to extradite Choksi, a key accused in the nearly Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case.
Choksi had challenged the lower court’s decision by citing what he described as an attempted kidnapping from Antigua, media reports, findings of Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Files (CCF), and concerns over receiving a fair trial in India. The Belgian court found these arguments insufficient.
Interpol’s CCF had removed Choksi’s name from its Red Notice list in November 2022 following his appeal. The CCF is a separate body that is “not under the control” of the Interpol Secretariat and is staffed mainly by elected lawyers who review complaints against Interpol decisions.
The Court of Cassation also rejected Choksi’s claim that Belgian prosecutors withheld information related to the CCF’s findings from the pre-trial chamber of the Antwerp district court. It found no fault in the Indictment Chamber’s reasoning, which had upheld a November 29, 2024 order declaring arrest warrants issued by a Mumbai special court in May 2018 and June 2021 as “enforceable”.
The court noted that the Indictment Chamber was not required to respond to every argument individually and that its rejection of Choksi’s defence did not amount to a failure of justice. It further agreed that legal provisions allowing refusal of extradition on grounds of possible torture did not apply in this case.
Choksi fled India in early January 2018, days before the PNB fraud was detected. Investigators allege he siphoned off about Rs 6,400 crore. At the request of India’s Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, Interpol issued a Red Notice against him in December 2018.
India sent a formal extradition request to Belgium on August 27, 2024, backed by arrest warrants from a Mumbai court. Belgian prosecutors initiated enforcement proceedings in November 2025.
Indian authorities have provided assurances on Choksi’s safety, prison conditions, human rights and medical care if extradited.
(With PTI inputs)
