Belgium’s top court rejects Mehul Choksi’s appeal, clears way for extradition to India

Belgium’s Court of Cassation has dismissed fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi’s appeal against India’s extradition request, endorsing earlier judicial findings that his claims of unfair treatment and human rights violations lacked sufficient legal basis.

In its order released on Wednesday, Belgium’s highest court upheld the decision of the Indictment Chamber of the Antwerp Court of Appeal, which had ruled that Choksi failed to demonstrate a real and serious risk of denial of justice, torture, or degrading treatment if extradited to India.

The Court of Cassation imposed legal costs of €104 on Choksi and clarified that its mandate does not involve reassessing facts or evaluating the merits of extradition. Instead, the court’s role is limited to ensuring that applicable laws and procedural rules were correctly followed by lower courts.

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The apex court found that the Antwerp Indictment Chamber applied the correct legal standards and sufficiently addressed the arguments raised in Choksi’s defence. It ruled that courts are not required to respond individually to every supporting argument as long as the core defence has been examined and rejected through reasoned findings.

Choksi had challenged the extradition process by citing alleged attempts to abduct him from Antigua, interpretations of those events by Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Files (CCF), media reporting, and concerns about the presumption of innocence in India. The court held that these claims did not establish legal grounds to block extradition.

The ruling also addressed Choksi’s argument that Belgian prosecutors failed to submit the Interpol CCF decision during earlier proceedings. The court held that his defence rights remained protected, as he was able to fully contest the case at the appellate level, where all relevant materials, including the CCF decision, were reviewed.

The Indictment Chamber had earlier upheld the enforceability of arrest warrants issued by a Mumbai special court in May 2018 and June 2021, paving the way for extradition proceedings. An exception was made for one charge related to the alleged disappearance of evidence.

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Choksi, who left India in January 2018 shortly before the detection of the ₹13,000 crore Punjab National Bank fraud, is accused of siphoning off approximately ₹6,400 crore, according to Indian investigators. His name was placed on Interpol’s Red Notice list in December 2018, though it was later withdrawn by the CCF in 2022 following his appeal.

India submitted a formal extradition request to Belgium in August 2024, supported by multiple assurances regarding Choksi’s safety, medical treatment, prison conditions, and adherence to human rights standards during trial.