Bring back Nirav Modi, Dawood: Sanjay Raut on Tahawwur Rana's possible extradition

The United States Supreme Court denied the petition of Tahahwwur Hussain Rana, convicted for his role in the Mumbai terror attacks, paving the way for his extradition to India. Reacting to this, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said it was time that Nirav Modi — who is facing charges of fraud and money laundering — be brought back to India.

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He added that other fugitives, including gangster Dawood Ibrahmin and Tiger Memon, must also be brought back.

"This is a judicial process. Such processes keep going on. Now Nirav Modi, Dawood and Tiger Memon must be brought back. The list is long," Raut told reporters.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member Hannan Mollah welcomed the decision while appreciating the US Supreme Court for giving permission to extradite the co-conspirator in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

"Those criminals committed crime in India and are staying there. The Indian government has asked for their extradition. It is good that the US Supreme Court has given permission. They'll come back and will be tried here," Hannan Mollah told ANI.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske said that the Supreme Court denying Tahawwur Hussain Rana's petition was a huge victory for the Indian government. "Rana is the main accused of the 26/11 attacks. The government was trying to bring him back to India. This is a big victory for the government. We will get more information for the investigation, once he is back," Mhaske told ANI.

Pakistani-origin businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana — who was convicted for his role in the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai that resulted in the death of 164 people — could now be extradited to India. Rana's co-conspirators included, among others, David Headley. Headley pleaded guilty and cooperated against Rana.

On January 21, the US Supreme Court denied a petition of writ of certiorari filed by Rana seeking to prevent his extradition to India. The writ was filed in November 2024 against an earlier order of a lower court that had ruled in favour of his extradition to India. A writ of certiorari is a legal document that allows a higher court to review a case from a lower court.

This could pave the way for his likely extradition to India. Rana was previously prosecuted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The second superseding indictment charged him with three counts. The jury convicted him on Count 11 (conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark). The jury also convicted Rana on Count 12 (providing material support to Lashkar-e Taiyba).

On January 7, 2013, the Northern District of Illinois court sentenced Rana to 168 months in prison. On June 10, 2020, a Magistrate Judge in the Central District of California — where Rana was serving his sentence — signed a provisional arrest warrant with a view to extraditing him to India.

India's charges consist of conspiracy to commit various offences, including to wage war, murder, commit two forms of forgery and a terrorist act. Rana has remained in custody throughout the extradition process.

Rana opposed extradition, but on May 16, 2023, the extradition magistrate judge rejected his arguments and certified that he was extraditable. Rana then petitioned the United States District Court for the central district of California for a writ of habeas corpus. On August 15, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court affirmed the judgment of the habeas court. The court rejected each of Rana's arguments.

On November 13, 2024, Rana filed a writ of certiorari against that verdict in the Supreme Court, which the court has now denied.