Tahawwur Rana likely to be extradited to India ‘shortly’: Report

26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana (File Image)

Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana is expected to be extradited to India from the United States “shortly”, according to sources cited by news agency PTI. A multi-agency team from India is currently in the US to complete the necessary paperwork and legal formalities with American authorities, the report said.
“There is a very high possibility that Rana could be extradited shortly,” sources told PTI. However, they clarified that he is not likely to be flown to India on Wednesday, and the process is still underway.
The extradition development follows a major legal setback for Rana. His final attempt to block the process failed last week after the US Supreme Court denied his emergency application, clearing the path for his transfer to Indian custody.
Rana, 64, is currently lodged at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles. On February 27, he had filed an ‘Emergency Application For Stay Pending Litigation of Petition For Writ of Habeas Corpus’ with US Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan, who subsequently denied the request last month.
He then renewed the application, redirecting it to Chief Justice John Roberts. As per court documents, the renewed plea was circulated for consideration by the full court on April 4. On Monday, the US Supreme Court website published a notice stating that the “application [has been] denied by the Court”.
New York-based Indian-American attorney Ravi Batra told PTI that Rana initially approached Justice Kagan, who denied his application on March 6. “The application was then submitted before Roberts, who has shared it with the Court to conference so as to harness the entire Court’s view,” Batra said.
In his plea, Rana argued that extraditing him to India would violate US laws and the UN Convention Against Torture. His counsel contended that there were “substantial grounds for believing” he would face torture in India due to his background.
“The likelihood of torture in this case is even higher though as petitioner faces acute risk as a Muslim of Pakistani origin charged in the Mumbai attacks,” the application stated.
The petition also argued that Rana’s extradition would amount to a “de facto death sentence” given his fragile health. His medical records from July 2024 cited numerous severe ailments, including multiple heart attacks, Parkinson’s disease with cognitive decline, a suspected bladder cancer mass, stage 3 chronic kidney disease, asthma, and repeated Covid-19 infections.
“Accordingly, petitioner certainly has raised a credible, if not compelling, factual case that there are indeed substantial grounds for believing he would be in danger of torture if surrendered to Indian authorities,” the application claimed. It further argued that Rana’s religious identity, military background, and alleged involvement in the 26/11 case heightened the risk of mistreatment.
Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, has long been linked to David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-American terrorist and one of the key planners of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. During those attacks, 10 terrorists from Pakistan laid siege to Mumbai for over 60 hours, killing 166 people, including six Americans, across multiple iconic locations.
US President Donald Trump, during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in February, had stated that his administration had approved the extradition of Rana, referring to him as “very evil” and saying he must “face justice in India”.
(With inputs from agencies)