The bail plea by Nirav Modi has been rejected by the Westminster Magistrates’ Court which comes after Nirav Modi was arrested by UK authorities on Tuesday. With the court denying him bail, Modi will have to be in police custody till March 29, which is the next date for hearing in the case.
He will be kept at the Wandsworth cell and will be produced before Judge Emma Arbuthnot, Chief Magistrate of Westminster Court. Apart from Nirav Modi’s case, she is also looking into the extradition case of Indian liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya.
Contesting his bail plea, the counsel for Nirav Modi rather argued that he is a worker of a London-based diamond firm. He said, adding that Modi withdraws a salary of 20,000 pounds and pays his taxes to the UK government. Modi also told the court he has a child in London to look after who goes to school.
The Crown Prosecution Service, arguing on behalf of the Indian agencies and representatives, told the Court that Modi is a high-value asset. The court was also notified of how he flew to eight countries even after his passport was officially cancelled by India.
Finally, after hearing both ends of the argument, the court came to the conclusion of rejecting the bail plea that Nirav Modi is a ‘flight risk’ with plenty of money, and may even try to flee the country if he will be granted bail.
In response to media queries regarding Mr. Modi’s arrest in London, the MEA’s official spokesperson said: “We welcome the fact that Nirav Modi has been arrested by the United Kingdom authorities pursuant to the arrest warrant issued by the Westminster Magistrates Court.
The Government of India continues to actively follow up this matter with the authorities concerned in the UK, with a view to having Nirav Modi extradited to India at the earliest.”
