US Supreme Court clears Mumbai 26/11 attack convict Tahawwur Rana's extradition to India
The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for Tahawwur Rana's extradition to India for his role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, rejecting his petition citing double jeopardy. Rana faces charges related to the attacks and collaboration with David Coleman Headley.
FollowWashington: The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, to be extradited to India. Rana is wanted in connection with the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, and India has been seeking his extradition for some time.
Rana, who previously lost several appeals in federal courts, including the US Court of Appeals for North Circuit in San Francisco, had petitioned the US Supreme Court to review the lower court's decision, citing the principle of double jeopardy as a last resort to avoid extradition. However, the Supreme Court denied his petition on January 21, paving the way for his extradition.
Rana is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles. He faces charges related to his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which killed over 160 people. Rana is known to have collaborated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the primary conspirators of the attacks.
In his petition to the Supreme Court, Rana argues that since he was acquitted in the Chicago case, India’s request for extradition would violate the double jeopardy principle, but the US government disagreed. The US Solicitor General, Elizabeth B. Prelogar, has urged the Supreme Court to reject Rana's petition, arguing that the charges India has brought against him are not identical to those on which he was acquitted in the US.
The US government argued that not all of the conduct on which India seeks extradition was covered by the previous US prosecution. Specifically, they cited charges related to forgery in India, which were not part of the charges in the US. The jury's verdict in the US trial was complex and did not necessarily mean that Rana was acquitted of all the specific conduct involved in India’s charges.
With the Supreme Court's decision, Rana's extradition to India is now imminent.
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