TIL Desk/Business/UK/ The Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London rejected the third bail plea presented by fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi on Wednesday. Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot heard Modi’s fresh bail application today. The next hearing in his extradition proceedings has been scheduled for May 30. He will now be taken back to Wandsworth prison where he can discuss further course of action with his legal team.
During the hearing, Modi’s legal team tried to convince the judge of a change in circumstances to secure bail for him. It also doubled the bail security to 2 million pounds and offered he would stay on 24-hour curfew at his London flat.
“Conditions in Wandsworth (prison) are unliveable… Modi is willing to abide by any conditions you choose to impose,” his barrister Clare Montgomery told the Judge during the hearing. However, Judge Arbuthnot denied bail to Modi as she feared that he would fail to surrender if granted bail.
Earlier, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of Indian authorities, said Modi should not be granted bail as the evidence presented by the defence does not amount to change of circumstances required to the third bail application.
