Nirav Modi will apply for bail in a UK high court soon, but has not applied for it as yet, a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesperson has told Asian Voice, as we went to press on Tuesday. The spokesperson further added, Nirav Modi can apply for bail whenever he likes, but he needs to give the CPS 48 hours' notice and the bail hearing has to be listed within 48 hours before the appeal being lodged. So in total there will be 4 days notice before the case appears in the high court.
In an extradition case either party can appeal the magistrates court decision to the High Court. A final appeal can go to the Supreme Court but only in cases where there is a 'point of law of general public importance'.
Nirav Modi was denied an application for bail for the second time in the Westminster Magistrates Court on Friday 29 March 2019, despite his defence team vigorously trying to establish his close ties to the UK, including having to care for his pet dog.
Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot declined the bail application, suggesting he was at 'substantial' flight risk, and he lacked 'community ties' with the UK. However, Modi's barrister Clare Montgomery trying to make a series of offers said, that while Modi's son was at Charterhouse school for the last 5 years and now in a US university, Modi has got a dog and “none of these actions are emblematic of someone setting out to flee the country.”
Applying for bail, Modi also offered a security of upto £1mn, a mobile that is always on and traceable and a police electronic tag. But Toby Cadman from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian authorities, emphasised that Modi posed a 'significant flight risk' and was also likely to further intimidate witnesses and destroy evidence if he were released. He said Modi had also travelled in February 2019 to the US, despite claiming he did not step out of the UK after January 2018, sealing the case against him. The court heard that Modi had allegedly 'threatened to kill' witness Ashis Lad and offered upto Rs 2mn to lure him to provide false statement. He had also allegedly destroyed evidences such as mobile phones and a server. The court further heard that Modi had applied for a citizenship of Vanuatu, in South Pacific, which was eventually denied to him. He acquired an investor's visa to the UK in 2015.
Judge Arbuthnot accepted the Indian government's arguments, noting the "very unusual" evidence she had seen at this early stage. However Montgomery, Modi's barriester, also subtly criticised the documents submitted by Indian authorities for poor quality of photocopies and lack of proper appendix and indexes in the document bundles. Judge Arbuthnot also seemed sympathetic towards her regarding the situation with the paperwork.
Modi appeared in the court in a white shirt and navy blue trousers and made notes, while sitting in custody. Mehul Choksi's brother Chetan Choksi was also present in the court. CBI had 3 representatives in court including Satyabrata Kumar from the extradition department.
The judge agreed that she did not feel that the conditions met with Modi's statutory right to bail and directed Modi to be remanded in custody in Wandsworth prison to appear for a remand hearing on April 26 through a video link, required within a four-week period of an accused being remanded in custody.
In Vijay Mallya's case, a bail was granted to him immediately after his arrest on an extradition warrant in 2017. However he had also surrendered himself after a warrant was issued, whereas Modi avoided it till he was arrested at a bank in Central London, when he was trying to open a new bank account. If extradited, he will be sent to same prison in Mumbai as Mallya, if he is also successfully extradited to India from the UK.
