The court also rejected his plea regarding possible ill-treatment in Indian prisons, noting that India had given Belgium a number of assurances regarding Mehul Choksi’s safety. File | Photo credit: AP
Fugitive Mehul Choksi, the main accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) “fraud” cases, has not proved a risk of ill-treatment if extradited to India, a Belgian court has concluded.
The four-judge prosecution at the Court of Appeal (Antwerp) noted that the documents submitted by Mr Choksi in his defense were insufficient to specifically establish that he was at a real, present and serious risk of being subjected to a flagrant denial of justice or torture or inhuman and degrading treatment upon extradition to India.
No glitch in the November order
The court found no fault in the orders issued by the pre-trial chamber of the Antwerp District Court on 29 November 2024, which held that the arrest warrants issued against Mr Choksi by the Bombay Special Court in May 2018 and June 2021 were enforceable and allowed his extradition.
In support of his suspicion that he would be tortured in India, Mr. Choksi cited an order by the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF) which canceled an Interpol Red Notice against him based on an alleged kidnapping in Antigua. However, the Court of Appeal found that it was not clear from the documents that he was the victim of a kidnapping in Antigua at the behest of the Indian authorities.
Assurance from India
The court also rejected his objection about possible ill-treatment in Indian prisons, noting that India had given Belgium a number of assurances regarding Mr Choksi’s safety, the charges he would face during his trial in India, prison arrangements, human rights and medical needs.
Also Read: Mehul Choksi detained in Belgium on India’s extradition request
Regarding the offenses he faced in India, the court said they could not be considered a political, military or non-extraditable fiscal offense and there were no reasons to believe that the extradition request was made with the intention of prosecuting or punishing a person on the basis of his race, religion, nationality or political opinion, nor did his position appear to be adversely affected by one of these grounds.
Mr Choksi is under investigation along with his nephew Nirav Modi in cases involving ₹13,578 crore. Mr. Nirav Modi was arrested in the United Kingdom at the request of India and has been in jail there since 2019. Indian agencies have been seeking Mr. Choksi’s extradition to India since 2018.
Currently, Mr. Choksi is an Antiguan citizen and obtained a Belgian residence permit in November 2023 as his wife is a Belgian citizen. In an application filed in a special court in Mumbai in February this year, he provided medical documents to state that he was suffering from cancer and was unable to travel.
In 2021, a court in Dominica rejected the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) request for his extradition after it claimed he was kidnapped and beaten by “henchmen” working for the Indian government. Based on the CBI cases, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also looked into the money laundering angle and seized assets worth hundreds of crores in India and abroad.
The accused fled the country along with their family members in January 2018, days before the CBI registered its first case related to the “scam”. The agencies later discovered that Mr. Choksi had secured Antiguan citizenship in November 2017.
Published – 22 Oct 2025 17:58 IST
