London:
A UK court docket listening to arguments within the extradition case of Nirav Modi on Thursday heard skilled views on the fugitive diamond product owner’s private household historical past of suicide and his deteriorating psychological well being in jail, which might solely additional deteriorate in solitary confinement.
Justice Samuel Goozee, presiding over the case at Westminster Justice of the Peace’s Court docket in London, was offered with three defence witnesses on day 4 of the five-day listening to, with every giving skilled proof on the 49-year-old jeweller’s extreme despair, threat from COVID-19 and the shortage of enough services at Arthur Street Jail in Mumbai the place he’s to be held on being extradited.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), showing on behalf of the Indian authorities within the USD 2-billion Punjab Nationwide Financial institution (PNB) fraud and cash laundering case, argued that the situations at Barrack 12 in Arthur Street Jail could be higher than these the jeweller is at the moment confronted with in a COVID-19 locked-down Wandsworth Jail cell in London.
“Coupled with a extreme situation of despair, in my opinion, he presents a excessive threat of suicide albeit not instantly,” mentioned Dr Andrew Forrester, a forensic psychiatrist who has examined Nirav Modi on 4 events between September final 12 months and August this 12 months.
Referring to the “suicide of his mom”, Dr Forrester burdened that as a “important characteristic” as Nirav Modi’s psychological well being situation was on a deterioration trajectory and meets the factors for hospital remedy within the absence of a multi-professional plan involving anti-depressants and psychotherapy.
The medical skilled revealed that whereas Modi is at the moment on anti-depressants, the shortage of supportive remedy or counselling on account of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in jail meant he was displaying indicators of psychomotor retardation, a extra extreme type of despair which entails a manifest slowing down in motion and speech.
“If against this, he was given full entry to multi-professional psychological well being care, higher than he’s at the moment getting at Wandsworth, would that assurance be useful,” requested CPS barrister Helen Malcolm, implying that the federal government of India could also be open to offering such an assurance.
Forrester agreed to take that into consideration and talk about Nirav Modi’s remedy with any medical professionals appointed in India sooner or later. He individually additionally dismissed the potential of Nirav Modi “faking his signs” in an try to mislead or deceive the court docket.
His testimony in court docket adopted reside videolink proof from Thailand by Richard Coker, an Emeritus Professor at London Faculty Hygiene and Tropical Drugs and an skilled in epidemiology and infectious illness, in help of defence arguments over the excessive COVID-19 threat Modi could be uncovered to at Arthur Street Jail – which has had an outbreak again in Might.
Whereas the Indian authorities had earlier submitted information to focus on that the outbreak has been totally contained, Coker countered: “COVID spreads extraordinarily successfully by way of prisons-and the chance will increase if neighborhood prevalence of illness is excessive.”
He assessed a 0.75 per cent threat of demise ought to Nirav Modi contract COVID-19 at Arthur Street Jail, a determine the CPS sought to match with different infectious illnesses equivalent to malaria. Higher air flow and area at Barrack 12 was additionally flagged as a optimistic, versus the overcrowded setting at Wandsworth Jail in London.
“There’s an equal risk of bringing [COVID-19] into this courtroom, unwittingly,” mentioned Malcolm, in reference to the chance issue from coronavirus within the wider neighborhood.
Insufficient jail situations as soon as once more remained on the coronary heart of the defence arguments as in addition they deposed Dr Alan Mitchell, a medical practitioner and prisons skilled as chair of the Unbiased Prisons Monitoring Group in Scotland.
Mitchell, who has up to now given proof on the unsuitability of Barrack 12 within the extradition case of Kingfisher Airways boss Vijay Mallya, reiterated a few of his issues across the lack of pure lighting.
Requested concerning the Indian authorities”s newest video of the Barrack performed in court docket earlier within the week, he mentioned: “These are the weather you do not decide up in a video.”
In the meantime, Nirav Modi continued to watch the proceedings through videolink and referred to information laid out earlier than him.
He’s topic to 2 units of felony proceedings, the primary introduced by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding a large-scale fraud mentioned to have been dedicated upon PNB and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case, regarding the laundering of the proceeds of that fraud.
An extra extradition request pertains to allegations that Nirav Modi interfered with the CBI investigation by inflicting the disappearance of proof and intimidating a witness.
The CPS should set up a prima facie case towards Modi to permit the decide to rule that he has a case to reply earlier than the Indian courts. If the decide finds a prima facie case towards Modi, it would go to UK Residence Secretary Priti Patel to formally certify his extradition to India to face trial.
A ruling within the case shouldn’t be anticipated earlier than the tip of this 12 months or early subsequent 12 months, with a listening to for closing submissions tentatively scheduled for December 1.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
