UK Court Rejects Modi's Extradition Reopening Bid

London's High Court of Justice rejected fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi's petition to reopen proceedings on his extradition order to India on Wednesday, clearing a significant hurdle in his return to face charges in a multibillion-rupee banking fraud case.

The King's Bench Division ruled that Modi's application did not meet the threshold of exceptional circumstances required to revisit the earlier decision. Modi, 54, had argued that he faced a risk of torture or inhuman treatment if extradited, citing a recent UK High Court judgment in the case of Sanjay Bhandari, a defense consultant whose extradition was blocked on humanitarian grounds. Modi's lawyers contended that assurances from Indian authorities about his treatment were insufficient, particularly given potential transfers between prisons and involvement of multiple agencies in his interrogation.

The Crown Prosecution Service, representing the Indian government, countered these claims during the hearing, with support from a team of Central Bureau of Investigation officers who traveled from India to London. The CBI has led the probe into the allegations against Modi since 2018. In its judgment, the court observed that...