Washington DC, August 17:
Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian businessman of Pakistani descent who was implicated in the 26/11 attack, has been declared "extraditable to India" according to the extradition treaty between the two nations, according to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. This ruling is a significant move.
After reviewing Tahawwur Hussain Rana's habeas corpus petition, which questioned a magistrate judge's determination that Rana should be extradited to India on charges of involvement in the Mumbai terrorist attacks, the panel upheld the district court's decision to deny the petition.
The panel also decided that the evidence presented by India was adequate to back up the magistrate judge's conclusion of probable cause that Rana was guilty of the charges.
The 405-page chargesheet filed by the Mumbai Police in relation to the 26/11 attacks names Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian businessman of Pakistani descent. There are claims that Rana was involved with the ISI and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The 26/11 attacks' mastermind, David Coleman Headley, who oversaw the Mumbai assaults' reconnaissance, is accused of having Rana's support in the chargesheet.
The US panel determined that Rana's alleged offense was covered by the extradition treaty between India and the US, which includes a Non-Bis in Idem (double jeopardy) exception to extraditability "when the person sought has been convicted or acquitted in the Requested State for the offence for which extradition is requested." This exception applies within the limited scope of habeas review of an extradition order.
The panel determined that the term "offence" pertains to a charged crime and necessitates an examination of the components of each offense based on the plain language of the treaty, the technical analysis provided by the State Department, and compelling precedent from other circuits.
The panel determined that the plea agreement of a co-conspirator did not force a different outcome. They went on to say that the Non Bis in Idem exception did not apply as the charges against Rana in India differed from the ones for which he was acquitted in the US.
The 25/11 terror attacks in Mumbai occurred less than a year prior to Rana's arrest in Chicago by the FBI. The terrorist in question ran a travel service out of Chicago fifteen years ago when he and his accomplice David Coleman Headley planned the terrorist assault in Mumbai.
The Pakistani terrorists responsible for the horrific attack allegedly used a plan that Rana helped create, according to police. Supporting the terrorist conspiracy is one of the charges against Rana and David Headley. While Rana battled it and ultimately lost, Headley cooperated with the investigators. Rana was on the verge of being released from a US prison after serving a 14-year term when India sought his extradition.
