New Delhi, Jan 31 (UNI) With the US Supreme Court declining to hear a petition from 26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana against his extradition, India said today that it is working with the US side on the procedural issues for his early extradition to the country.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, addressing a media briefing, said on the Tahawwur Rana issue:
“The US Supreme Court on 21 January 2025 declined to hear a petition from the accused. With that it looks like his appeal in the matter has been dismissed.
“We are now working with the US side on procedural issues for early extradition to India of the accused in the Mumbai terror attack case. We will keep you updated.”
Last week, the US Supreme Court denied a petition of writ of certiorari to Rana against his extradition to India.
The writ was filed in November 2024 against an earlier order of a lower court that had ruled in favour of his extradition to India. A writ of certiorari is a legal document that allows a higher court to review a case from a lower court.
With the US apex court denying his petition, a major hurdle was cleared in the path to extraditing Rana, a Pakistan origin Canadian national to India.
Rana’s extradition to India is expected to expose many sensitive revelations regarding the Mumbai terror attacks case.
He was close to Pakistani American terrorist David Headley, who had recced the sites in Mumbai for the attack.
Rana faces charges for his role in the Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed. He is currently lodged in a jail in Los Angeles.
He was formerly an army doctor in Pakistan. He reportedly studied in Pakistan but later went to Canada as a businessman. He owned First World Immigration Services, with offices in Chicago and other locations.
A total of 166 people, including six Americans, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack in which 10 Pakistani terrorists laid a more than 60-hour siege, attacking and killing people at iconic and vital locations of Mumbai.