The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, wanted by India for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, can be extradited to India under the extradition treaty between the two countries.
“The (India US Extradition) Treaty permits Rana’s extradition,” the court said in its ruling on August 15.
A group of judges from the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit confirmed the District Court's decision in the Central District of California to reject Rana's habeas corpus petition. The petition challenged a magistrate judge's decision to certify him as extraditable to India for his alleged involvement in terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
The judges stressed that the review of an extradition order through a habeas corpus petition is limited in scope. They held that Rana's alleged offence fell within the terms of the extradition treaty between the United States and India.
The treaty includes a provision for not being tried twice for the same offence, known as the Non Bis in Idem (double jeopardy) exception to extraditability. This exception applies "when the person sought has been convicted or acquitted in the Requested State for the offence for which extradition is requested".
The panel made its decision based on the treaty's literal text, the technical analysis conducted by the State Department, and compelling legal precedents from other circuits. It held that the term "offence" in the treaty refers to a charged crime rather than the underlying acts. Additionally, the panel stated that an analysis of the elements of each crime is required.
The panel of three judges concluded that a co-conspirator’s plea agreement did not compel a different result. The panel held that the Non Bis in Idem exception did not apply because the Indian charges contained distinct elements from the crimes for which Rana was acquitted in the United States.
The panel's decision also stated that India presented enough credible evidence to back up the magistrate judge's determination of probable cause that Rana committed the alleged crimes. The three judges on the panel were Milan D Smith, Bridget S Bade, and Sidney A Fitzwater.
Rana, who is a citizen of Pakistan, was prosecuted in a US district court for his involvement in a terrorist group responsible for major terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Rana was found guilty by a jury of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and conspiring to provide material support to a failed plan to carry out terrorist acts in Denmark.
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