Now, Nirav Modi comes between India-U.K. bilateral ties

The precarious bilateral relationship between India and Britain is set to be tested even further, amid unofficial confirmation that fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi had fled to Britain seeking political asylum. British Foreign Office and Indian officials confirmed to the Financial Times on Sunday that Mr. Modi had sought political asylum, following months of speculation as to his whereabouts.

While parallels will be drawn with the case of Vijay Mallya, the liquor baron whose extradition to face charges of money laundering and fraud of around ₹9,000 crore that India is currently pursuing through the British court system, the cases appear to be quite different.

Mallya case

Mr. Mallya, who had his Indian passport revoked by Indian authorities, has said he has been a British resident, now with indefinite leave to remain, since 1992. The decision on whether to return him to India lies within Britain’s court system, under an extradition process set out in a 1992 bilateral extradition treaty.

Mr. Modi — if he has claimed political asylum as reports suggest — would have to navigate Britain’s highly uncertain political asylum process.

It is not known which passport Mr. Modi was travelling on, though some reports have suggested it was Singaporean.

“To be eligible you must have left your country and be unable to go back because you fear persecution,” explains the section of the British government’s websites on applying for asylum, which urges those who apply to do so “as soon as they arrive or deem it unsafe to return to their own country”. A decision on an application — which would be made by the Home Office’s UK Border Agency — could take 6 months, it estimates.

“Seeking political asylum would involve the suggestion he’s being hounded by the government for political reasons,” says Sarosh Zaiwalla, founder of London-based law firm Zaiwalla & Co who has dealt with a number of cases involving high-profile political asylum claims.

“This cannot just be about an election: it has to be much more serious.”

Unlike the Mallya case which is being heard at Westminster Magistrates Court, the claim for political asylum would be considered by the Home Office’s UK Border Agency. “It’s an administrative decision but one that India can feed into,” said Mr. Zaiwalla, who noted that unlike in an extradition case where the onus was on the country to prove there was a prima facie case to be heard against him (and that other criteria such as prison conditions were met), in a claim for political asylum the burden of proof would be on the claimant. Still, said Mr. Zaiwalla, India, to ensure a swift decision rejecting the claim could make representations to the Home Office on why the political asylum application constituted an “abuse” of the process of asylum. “The burden on proof would be on him but India must work behind the scenes immediately,” he said.

Another London-based source cast doubt on whether Mr. Modi would be going down the route of claiming political asylum, saying that the key question would be if he had indefinite leave to remain in Britain (in which case the extradition process would have to kick in).

Mr. Modi’s apparent decision to flee to the U.K. comes at a particularly sensitive time for bilateral relations, with tensions not only over Britain’s immigration system (and its treatment of Indian nationals, particularly skilled professionals), but also over the questions about Indian jails raised in recent court cases. While India has by and large sought to emphasise its respect for the UK judicial system and processes, the issue has surfaced at a political level too. The issue of jail conditions has figured in India’s attempt to extradite Mr. Mallya (to Arthur Road Prison) as well as alleged bookie Sanjeev Chawla (to Tihar). India is currently appealing a judge’s decision to deny the extradition of Mr. Chawla because of concerns around conditions at Tihar.
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