US Court Approves Extradition of 26/11 Attack Accused Tahawwur Rana to India

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Tahawwur Rana, implicated in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, is extraditable to India. The court upheld evidence presented by India and dismissed Rana's habeas corpus petition. After a 14-year sentence, Rana is set to be extradited to face charges in India.

In a significant ruling, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has declared that Pakistan-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, implicated in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, can be extradited to India. This decision is based on the extradition treaty between the two nations.

The panel affirmed a lower court's denial of Rana's habeas corpus petition, which contested a magistrate judge's certification of Rana as extraditable. The court confirmed that India had provided adequate evidence supporting probable cause that Rana committed the alleged crimes linked to the Mumbai attacks.

Rana, who was named in a 405-page chargesheet by the Mumbai Police, has been accused of facilitating the attacks' mastermind David Coleman Headley. The US court found that Rana's offense falls within the extradition treaty's terms, which include a double jeopardy exception.

Interpreting the treaty, the court clarified that the term ''offense'' refers to specific charged crimes rather than underlying acts, necessitating an analysis of each crime's elements. The panel also determined that a co-conspirator's plea agreement did not alter the outcome and that the Non Bis in Idem exception did not apply as the Indian charges were distinct from those for which Rana had been acquitted in the US.

Rana was arrested by the FBI in Chicago less than a year after the 26/11 attacks. He had operated a travel agency in Chicago and, with Headley, scouted locations for the attacks. Investigators assert that Pakistani terrorists used blueprints partially produced by Rana. While Headley cooperated with authorities, Rana contested the charges and ultimately lost.

Having completed a 14-year prison term in the US, Rana was on the verge of release when India requested his extradition. Now, he is poised to be extradited to face charges in India. (ANI)