Retired Supreme Court judge
Markandey Katju was challenged as a "self-publicist" on behalf of the
Indian government on Friday as he gave evidence in the extradition case of
fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi via a live videolink from India at
Westminster Magistrates' Court in London.
On the final day of a five-day
hearing, Justice Samuel Goozee heard Mr Katju's detailed evidence before
adjourning the case until November 3, when he will hear arguments on the
admissibility of the evidence provided by the Indian authorities on the charges
of fraud and money laundering against the diamond merchant in the USD 2-billion
Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case.
The UK's Crown Prosecution Service
(CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian government, sought to counter Mr Katju's
written and oral claims that Nirav Modi would not receive a fair trial in India
because a majority of the judiciary was corrupt and the investigating agencies
subservient to the government.
"Is it at least possible, you
are something of a self-publicist who will make any outrageous statements for
the purpose of courting the press," questioned barrister Helen Malcolm, to
which Mr Katju replied "you are entitled to your opinion".
Malcolm also queried his decision
to give media interviews in India earlier this week related to the evidence he
was to give before the UK court in a sub judice matter, to which the former
Supreme Court judge said that he merely responded to reporters' questions and
that it was his duty to speak out on matters of "national importance".
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During what became a quite a fiery
exchange in court at times, some of his past controversial statements were also
read out in court, in reference to gay relationships being
"unnatural" and women who remain single being "prone to
psychological problems".
Mr Katju countered by stating that
he was entitled to his opinion and that he had quoted from Irish playwright
George Bernard Shaw's 'Man and Superman'', which Malcolm "as a
Britisher" should have read.
The former judge had been deposed by Nirav Modi's defence team in order to substantiate their claims that the jeweller faces an unfair and biased trial if extradited to India.
Mr Katju also repeatedly made
comparisons between India and Germany under the Nazi regime, saying Nirav Modi
has been made a "convenient scapegoat" akin to the Jews in Nazi
Germany in order to be blamed for the economic crisis in the country.
Asked by the if the diamantaire's
own alleged dishonest actions could be to blame, he said: "I am
not making any statements on the merits of this case. I am simply saying that
he cannot get a fair trial... all ministers and media have pronounced him
guilty."
His assertion that post-retirement
appointments were among the inducements which led to corruption among judges
brought his own appointment as the Chairman of the Press Council of India
following his retirement into focus, which he stressed was not a government
appointment.
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"So, the three-member
appointment committee - composed of the Speaker of the Lower House, Chairman of
the Upper House (Vice-President of India) and a Press Council member - are
completely apolitical and nothing to do with the government," queried
Malcolm.
The hearing on Thursday concluded
the bulk of the oral evidence in the extradition case, which was observed by
Nirav Modi via videolink from a room in Wandsworth Prison in London - where he
has been lodged since his arrest in March last year.
The first set of hearings in the
case took place in May, with the hearings this week slotted to complete
arguments to establish the 49-year-old jeweller has a case to answer before the
Indian courts.
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The defence team, led by barrister
Clare Montgomery, has sought to not only establish that Mr Modi's actions
related to PNB-issued Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) did not amount to fraud but
also deposed witnesses to highlight his fragile mental health condition and a
high risk of suicide.
They have also claimed that the
conditions at Barrack 12 in Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where he is to be
lodged on being extradited, do not meet the court's human rights criteria.
The has set out the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) case of fraud and the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) case of the laundering of those fraudulently acquired funds.
It has also played videos in the
court in support of additional charges of disrupting the CBI's investigation by
causing the disappearance of evidence and criminal intimidation of witnesses.
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