Mehul Choksi can’t be removed from Antigua and Barbuda, says HC

BUSINESS TODAY:  Mehul Choksi, who has been living in the Caribbean nation since 2018, appealed that “there was an obligation on the part of the defendants, the Attorney General of Antigua and the Chief of Police to carry out a thorough inquiry” into the case

The High Court of Antigua and Barbuda has said diamantaire Mehul Choksi, who is wanted in India in connection with Rs 13000 crore fraud, cannot be removed from Antigua and Barbuda without a court order.

According to Dominica-based Nature Isle News, Choksi, who has been living in the Caribbean nation since 2018, argued in his lawsuit that “there was an obligation on the part of the defendants, the Attorney General of Antigua and the Chief of Police to carry out a thorough inquiry”.

Choksi said that he has an arguable claim that he was subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Demanding a probe into his claims, Choksi has sought relief from the country’s high court, which includes a declaration that suggests he is entitled to a prompt and thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding his forcible removal from Antigua and Barbuda on or about May 23, 2021.

The court, on its part, prohibited Choksi’s removal from the island’s territory without the High Court ruling following an inter-party hearing and subject to the Choksi exhausting all available legal remedies, including appeals, according to an ANI report.

This order is contingent upon Chowksi exhausting all legal avenues, including potential appeals. Choksi is wanted in India in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud worth Rs 13,000 crores. His nephew is fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is wanted in fraud case worth crores.

“Further or in the alternative, a Declaration that the first Defendant is to establish an independent, judicial inquiry as to the circumstances of the Claimant (Mehul Chowksi)’s forcible abduction and removal from the jurisdiction of Antigua and Barbuda on or around May 23, 2021. A Declaration that the second Defendant has a duty to confirm to the Dominican police that the evidence supports that the Claimant was forcibly removed from the jurisdiction and taken to Dominica against his will,” the court order read.

“An order that the Claimant may not be caused to leave and/or be removed from the jurisdiction of Antigua and Barbuda without an order from the High Court after an inter partes hearing and subject to the Claimant exhausting any appeals or other legal relief provided by law. An Order that the second Defendant releases the statement taken by its officers from the Claimant on 15 August 2021,” the order read further.

The defendants argued that there is no valid complaint that exposes a cause of action for any failure to carry out an “effective” and “rapid” investigation within the scope of the jurisdiction under section 7 of the Constitution.

Last month, the CBI asked the Commission for Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF) for the restoration of Red Notice against the 63-year-old fugitive. The Interpol had opened a Red Notice against Choksi in 2018 on a request from the CBI and Enforcement Directorate. 

The Red Notice is the highest form of an alert issued by the 195-member country-strong Interpol to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.

The Interpol had opened a Red Notice against Choksi in 2018 on a request from the CBI and Enforcement Directorate.

His appeals against the decision were rejected in 2020. In 2022, nearly a year after his alleged abduction attempt, he approached the CCF, a separate body within Interpol that is not under the control of INTERPOL Secretariat and is mainly staffed by elected lawyers from different countries “to revise its earlier decision of 2020”, the agency said.