Two weeks after the High Court in London refused to reopen Nirav Modi’s extradition case, a ruling that legally closed all doors to him in the UK, the fugitive Almasy approached the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France, in a last-ditch attempt to save himself, people familiar with the developments said.
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However, Indian agencies believe his application is likely to be rejected at the admission stage only after judges rejected his previous attempts to invoke the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, known as the European Convention on Human Rights, before the UK courts.
“This new attempt by Nirav Modi will only delay his repatriation to India by a few months as he has already exhausted all his legal options in the UK,” an official said, requesting anonymity.
The UK Supreme Court, on March 25, took into account assurances made by the Indian government – delivered in September 2025, December 2025, and through a note verbale from the Indian High Commission in London in February 2026 – that Modi would not be questioned by any of the five investigative agencies handling his cases, as it rejected his petition to reopen the extradition process, which was ordered by the Westminster Court in London in February 2021.
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Detailing the process at the ECtHR, a second officer said, “If the panel finds Modi’s petition admissible, the government seeking extradition (India) will be called to submit its observations on the admissibility and merits of the case. However, if it is rejected at the admissibility stage, he will not be able to appeal to the ECtHR again.”
The United Kingdom is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights. Modi had previously raised the issue of torture in Indian prisons in the event of his extradition, and his mental health to oppose extradition, but the courts in London found no merit in his arguments.
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HT reached out to Nirav Modi’s legal team in London via email but there was no response. He is accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank $Rs 6,498 crore – part of the total $13,578 crore fraud, with approx $Rs 7,000 crore linked to his uncle Mehul Choksi – Modi has been in a UK prison since his arrest by Scotland Yard in March 2019, on India’s extradition request.
