Businessman Sanjay Bhandari’s extradition: Listening to beings in UK Excessive Courtroom | What’s the case?
The listening to on Defence sector advisor and businessman Sanjay Bhandari’s enchantment towards his extradition order started within the Excessive Courtroom in London on Wednesday. He’s wished in India on alleged tax evasion and cash laundering expenses. The event comes after the 62-year-old businessman gained permission to enchantment towards a November 2022 Westminster Magistrates’ Courtroom ruling clearing his extradition earlier this yr.
Bhandari’s attorneys started making their arguments within the case, which is listed for a three-day listening to this week with the judgment anticipated in early January 2025.
Lord Justice Timothy Holroyde and Justice Karen Steyn began listening to representations from barristers James Stansfeld and Edward Fitzgerald on the Royal Courts of Justice on three major grounds of enchantment – whether or not the bar for criminality had been met within the English jurisdiction, whether or not a prima facie case had been made and whether or not the accused faces a threat of violence in an Indian jail.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), showing on behalf of the Indian authorities, will reply to the arguments throughout the course of the listening to – represented by barristers Ben Keith and Alex du Sautoy.
They made representations to the judges to permit a video hyperlink to be generated for the next days, to permit the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to observe the proceedings from India.
“There’s a actual threat of violence or extortion from prisoners and jail officers,” claimed Fitzgerald, throughout his arguments on the subject of Delhi’s Tihar Jail the place Bhandari is to be lodged if he’s extradited.
Then UK Secretary of State, Suella Braverman, had ordered the extradition final yr. Nonetheless, Bhandari, who provided consultancy companies to defence producers bidding for Indian authorities contracts by his agency Offset India Options, sought permission to enchantment towards the decision of District Decide Michael Snow within the Excessive Courtroom.
Eight grounds highlighted for Bhandari’s extradition
Represented by Janes Solicitors, the enchantment was sought on eight grounds, three of which had been granted in a courtroom order by Justice Robert Jay final October and 4 others being authorized at a listening to in March by Justice Pushpinder Saini.
The idea for the enchantment was that the District Decide had “erred in his conclusions” that the offences had been extradition offences and a prima facie case had been established towards Bhandari.
The CPS had argued there was “no advantage in any of the renewed grounds of enchantment and permission must be refused”.
Two extradition requests from the Indian authorities
The case considerations two extradition requests from the Indian authorities, the primary regarding an allegation of cash laundering, opposite to Part 3 of the Prevention of Cash Laundering Act 2002 in India.
The second request considerations an allegation of wilfully making an attempt to evade a tax, penalty or curiosity chargeable or imposable below the Black Cash Act 2015 opposite to Part 51 of that act in India.
What are the allegations towards Bhandari?
Bhandari, who was resident in India for tax functions on the time in 2015, is accused of concealing abroad belongings, utilizing backdated paperwork, benefiting from the belongings not declared to the Indian tax authorities after which falsely informing the authorities that he didn’t possess any abroad belongings.
He denies the allegations towards him and has been combating his extradition because the first request was licensed by the UK Dwelling Workplace in June 2020.
(With PTI inputs)
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