Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi has received a major blow from the High Court (King’s Bench Division) in London, UK. The court has rejected his latest petition, in which he had sought reopening of the case against his extradition to India. After this decision, Nirav Modi’s legal options have become even more limited. The High Court clearly said that the petition filed by Nirav Modi to reopen the case did not present any “extraordinary circumstances” on the basis of which the proceedings could be restarted. In other words, another one of their legal moves has failed.
Strong advocacy of CPS and CBI
The case was strongly defended in court by the UK government agency, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). During this proceeding, a team from India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also reached London and played an important role in the case. In his petition, Nirav Modi had cited the “Bhandari judgment”. He had argued that if he were extradited to India, he could face ill-treatment there, and the assurances given by the Indian authorities were inadequate. However, his argument did not hold up against the strong counter arguments presented by the CBI and CPS.
Jailed in UK since 2019
CBI has been trying to bring Nirav Modi back to India since 2018. He is accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank (PNB) of approximately ₹6,498 crore. Nirav Modi was arrested in UK in 2019 and since then he is in jail there. British courts have already approved his extradition, and several of his subsequent appeals have also been rejected.
A major obstacle was overcome in August 2025
Although some legal hurdles were encountered earlier, a major hurdle was finally cleared in August 2025. Now, with the dismissal of this latest petition, Nirav Modi’s legal path has become even narrower. The verdict is being considered a major victory for the government and the investigating agencies, as it seems to pave the way for further legal action in connection with the ongoing massive bank fraud case in India.
