US Supreme Court clears 2008 Mumbai terror attack convict Tahawwur Rana's extradition to India

The US Supreme Court on Friday cleared the extradition of 2008 Mumbai terror attack convict Tahawwur Rana to India after a long drawn out legal battle. According to the PTI, the ruling came weeks after Rana approached the apex court against his extradition to India after he lost the same battle in lower courts.

The court on Friday dismissed the review petition against his conviction and agreed that he can be extradited to India. The Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman was accused of playing a major role in the devastating 2008 terror attack that rocked India.

The 63-year-old was incarcerated in a Los Angeles prison since the extradition request by India was accepted by the United States. Meanwhile, in India, Rana is facing several criminal charges related to the Mumbai terror attacks. He also raised eyebrows because of his association with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, also known as “Daood Gilani,” who was seen as one of the main masterminds of the 2008 attack.

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Rana was accused of helping Headley along with the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to orchestrate the attacks in Mumbai. Before the Supreme Court, Rana moved to the US Court of Appeals for the North Circuit in San Francisco. However, his petition was dismissed by lower and federal courts in the country. Hence, approaching the Supreme Court was seen as the last resort Rana had to avoid extraction to India.

A long drawn out battle

It was on December 4, 2019, when India submitted a diplomatic note to the US to extradite Rana. On June 10, 2020, New Delhi went on to file a complaint seeking the provisional arrest of Rana with the intention to eventually extradite him. Former US President Joe Biden’s administration eventually supported India in the endeavour and approved the extradition request.

It is pertinent to note that India and the United States have signed a bilateral Extradition Treaty, signed in 1997, which obligates both nations to accept such requests. After Rana lost the battle in several lower and federal courts, the US Court of Appeals for the North Circuit in San Francisco, on November 13 filed a “petition for a writ of certiorari” before the Supreme Court.

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With this Rana’s appeal reached the highest court of the country where it was rejected. During the hearing in the case on December 16, US Solicitor General Elizabeth B Prelogar urged the Supreme to reject the petition, emphasising the severity of the crimes Rana was accused of. In the 2008 terror attack, a total of 166 people, including six Americans, were killed after 10 Pakistani terrorists laid a more than 60-hour siege at vital locations across Mumbai.

With inputs from agencies.