Mehul Choksi Extradition: Leading Belgian Court Rejects All Objections and Authorizes Fugitive Diamantaire’s Return to India
Mehul Choksi Extradition: The Belgian Court of Cassation dismissed fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi’s appeal against extradition to India, stating that he had not proven any legal or factual basis for interfering with previous orders allowing his surrender.
The Belgian Supreme Court ruled that the extradition processes were in complete compliance with both domestic law and European human rights norms, upholding the October 17, 2025, decision of the Antwerp Court of Appeal’s Chamber of Indictment.
The court dismissed all three of Choksi’s challenges, which included allegations of kidnapping, concerns about Indian jail conditions, and claimed breaches of the right to a fair trial.
The Court of Cassation noted that such issues were sufficiently addressed at the appeal level in response to Choksi’s claim that his defense rights had been infringed due to specific documents not being presented to the court at the outset.
It claims that the Chamber of Indictment has complete jurisdiction and uses an adversarial procedure, which enables the individual being sought to provide all pertinent information. Thus, the court determined that there had been no violation of Choksi’s right to a fair trial as guaranteed by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The court also rejected Choksi’s argument that Indian officials were involved in his kidnapping from Antigua, citing the Interpol Commission for the Control of Files (CCF) ruling as evidence.
It concluded that the lower court had only assessed the CCF decision’s evidentiary value, which was carefully worded and stated in conditional words. The Belgian Supreme Court decided that it could not reappreciate the conclusions since the evaluation of the evidence is within the lower court’s sovereign jurisdiction.
The Court of Cassation relied on the Government of India’s clear guarantees on the claimed danger of torture and cruel treatment in India. According to the ruling, India promised Belgian officials that Choksi would be housed in Barrack No. 12, a secure ward with two cells and private restrooms, at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai. It further said that he would continue to be subject to judicial courts rather than investigative agencies. The court rejected parallels with other cases and jails and ruled that Choksi had not shown a genuine, present, and personal danger to himself if extradited.
The Court of Cassation dismissed the appeal and ordered Choksi to pay EUR104.01 in fees after concluding that all legal requirements had been properly followed. Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are charged with masterminding a roughly $2 billion scam against Punjab National Bank. Several charge sheets have been filed against him in India by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation, and a number of non-bailable warrants are still outstanding in relation to the matter.