PNB Fraud Case: ‘Mehul Choksi Doesn’t Want To Come To India,’ Says ED
**Mumbai: Enforcement Directorate States Mehul Choksi Unwilling to Return to India Amid Extradition Proceedings**
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed a special court on Thursday that fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi does not wish to return to India, as he is currently contesting extradition proceedings in Belgium.
### Plea to Declare Mehul Choksi a Fugitive Economic Offender Pending
The ED’s plea, filed in July 2018 seeking to declare Mehul Choksi a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO), remains pending before the special court. This is in contrast to his nephew, Nirav Modi, who was declared an FEO in June 2020. Such a declaration is significant in cases of financial fraud as it empowers authorities to confiscate assets both within India and abroad.
### Choksi’s Lawyers Seek to Dismiss ED’s Plea
Months after Choksi’s arrest in Belgium, his lawyers moved a plea to dismiss the ED’s application to declare him an FEO. They argued that since Choksi is currently in custody for cases pending in India — for which Indian authorities have made an extradition request in Belgium — the application by the ED deserves dismissal.
### Defence Argument
Choksi’s defence stated:
> “The applicant is currently in custody for cases pending in India, with an extradition request made by Indian authorities in Belgium. Therefore, the ED’s application to declare him an FEO should be dismissed as he is already in custody for these cases.”
### ED Counters Custody Claim
Contesting the defence claim, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing alongside ED prosecutor Kavita Patil, argued:
> “He is not handed over to Indian agencies.”
Singh further stated that if Choksi wished, he could come to India and the agency might then consider withdrawing the FEO application.
### ED Calls Defence Argument Contradictory
Singh pointed out the inconsistency in the defence’s stand:
> “On one hand, he is contesting proceedings in the Belgian court stating he cannot be extradited to India, and on the other, saying he is arrested so the application becomes infructuous. The judicial process for extradition is still ongoing. He will be handed over to Indian authorities subject to the conclusion of these proceedings. Thus, to say the application has become infructuous is incorrect.”
### ED’s Stand on Fugitive Status
The ED further questioned:
> “Merely because Choksi is in the custody of Belgium police, does the ED’s application become infructuous?”
Additional Solicitor General Singh argued:
> “One thing remains clear — to avoid arrest and criminal proceedings, he left India. He has chosen to stay out of India and not personally participate in proceedings by remaining absent from court.”
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https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/pnb-fraud-case-mehul-choksi-doesnt-want-to-come-to-india-says-ed
