Choksi produced before magistrate to answer charges of illegal entry into Dominica

The High Court of Dominica on Wednesday asked local police to present fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi before the magistrate’s court to stand trial for illegal entry into the Caribbean Sea island nation.

Justice Bernie Stephenson also adjourned the hearing on the Habeas Corpus petition filed by the lawyers representing Mehul Choksi till Thursday.

Choksi, who is now in a hospital, was virtually present in the High Court.

Read | Explained: Legal hurdles in bringing fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi back to India

Choksi was reported missing from Jolly Harbour township in Antigua on May 23 last. He was arrested from Canefield Beach in Roseau, the capital of Dominica, on May 26. Browne requested Dominican Government to deport Choksi to India, instead of repatriating him to Antigua and Barbuda (A&B).

The Dominican Government, however, decided to repatriate him to Antigua and Barbuda, but the High Court in Roseau blocked the repatriation after a Habeas Corpus petition was filed by the lawyers representing the diamantaire.

A team of officials from the Ministry of External Affairs, Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate are in Dominica to explore the possibility of Mehul Choksi’s deportation to India, where he would have to stand trial for colluding with his nephew and jeweller Nirav Modi defrauding the Punjab National Bank of Rs 13500 crore.

Choksi was granted the citizenship of the A&B by the Browne’s Government in November 2017. He had taken an oath as a citizen of A&B in January 2018 – just days after fleeing from India. The Ministry of External Affairs had in February 2018 revoked the passports issued to both Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi.