PNB Fraud: India Gives Formal Assurance To Belgium On Mehul Choksi's Detention Conditions
In a letter to Belgian authorities, the Ministry of Home Affairs has shared the conditions under which Choksi would be detained if he is extradited from Belgium to India.
India has given assurances to Belgium that fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi will not be held in solitary confinement if extradited and will be housed in humane conditions in line with international standards for trial in the Rs 13,000-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case.
In a letter to Belgian authorities, the Ministry of Home Affairs has shared the conditions under which Choksi would be detained if he is extradited from Belgium to India.
Absconding diamond jeweller Choksi was arrested by Belgian authorities in Antwerp this April following an extradition request by Indian probe agencies for his alleged involvement in the Rs 13,000 crore PNB bank loan 'fraud' case and has been lodged in prison there since.
As per the letter, Choksi will be lodged in Barrack No. 12 of the Arthur Road Jail Complex in Mumbai. His cell will be under round-the-clock monitoring and will provide him at least three square metres of personal space, excluding furniture.
The cell will have adequate lighting, ventilation, and storage facilities, along with basic amenities such as a cotton mattress, pillow, bedsheet, and blanket. A bed may be provided on medical grounds. He will have access to clean drinking water and medical facilities 24/7, as well as proper toilet and washing arrangements.
The letter also added that he will be permitted out of his cell for exercise and recreation for more than an hour daily.
The detailed framework was shared to help Belgian courts evaluate if the detention conditions Choksi would face in India meet international human rights standards. Such assurances are common during extradition proceedings.
Choksi's bail plea was recently rejected on grounds that he posed a flight risk. His extradition hearing is scheduled for the second week of September.
Choksi, his nephew and fugitive diamond trader Nirav Modi, their family members and employees, bank officials and others were booked by the two agencies in 2018 for perpetrating the alleged loan fraud at the Brady House branch of PNB in Mumbai.
