No risk of unfair trial or ill-treatment to Mehul Choksi in India: Belgian court

New Delhi: A Belgian court has ruled that fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, main accused in a Rs 13,000 crore PNB scam, faces "no risk" of being denied a fair trial or subjected to ill-treatment if he is extradited to India.

A four-member indictment chamber at the Court of Appeals in Antwerp has found no infirmity in the orders issued by the pre-trial chamber of the Antwerp district court on November 29, 2024, which had termed the arrest warrants issued by a Mumbai special court in May 2018 and June 2021 as "enforceable", allowing Choksi's extradition.

Dismissing the appeal filed by Choksi against the district court, the Court of Appeals held that the 66-year-old businessman, wanted in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, failed to provide "concretely plausible" evidence of a "genuine risk" of torture or denial of justice.

The order has come as a strong validation for India's case seeking his extradition, with Choksi having the option of appealing against the decision in Belgium's Supreme Court, officials said.

The Court of Appeals has held that the documents Choksi submitted do not substantiate his claims that he is the subject of a political trial.

It said that it is up to the subject to provide evidence demonstrating substantial grounds to believe that there is a genuine risk of ill-treatment upon extradition.

Rejecting the arguments put forth by Choksi that he may not get a fair trial if extradited to India, the Belgian court held that the documentation provided by him is insufficient to make it "concretely plausible" that he personally faces a real, present and serious risk of being subjected to flagrant denial of justice, torture or inhuman and degrading treatment in India.

Choksi's claims that he was kidnapped from Antigua and Barbuda by Indian agencies and tortured in Dominica did not find support from the court, which said the records submitted by the fugitive businessman do not "conclusively indicate" that he was the victim of a kidnapping in Antigua ordered by Indian authorities.

The order of the Commission for the Control of Interpol's Files (CCF) -- an independent body that ensures that all personal data processed through the Interpol's channels conforms to the rules of the organisation -- that allowed the Interpol Red Notice against Choksi to be dropped on the grounds of alleged kidnapping, was cited by the fugitive businessman in Belgium to buttress that he may be tortured in India.

The Court of Appeals said the CCF's October 12, 2022 decision provides no clarity on the matter and is formulated cautiously and conditionally.

Choksi did not cite any substantial document that would allow the indictment chamber to conclude that there is a real risk of violation of his right to a fair trial due to the alleged lack of independence of Indian judges, it said.

Of the Rs 13,000 crore scam, Choksi alone has siphoned off Rs 6,400 crore, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged in its chargesheet.

Choksi, who has escaped to Antigua and Barbuda in January 2018 days before the scam was detected, was spotted in Belgium where he had purportedly reached for seeking treatment.

India had sent an extradition request to Belgium on August 27, 2024, based on arrest warrants issued by the special court in Mumbai.

The public prosecutor at the Court of First Instance in Antwerp, Division Turnhout, initiated an action on November 25, 2025, seeking the enforcement of arrest warrants issued by the Mumbai court.

The pre-trial chamber of the Antwerp District Court, Turnhout Division, in its order dated November 29, 2024, declared that the arrest warrants against Choksi issued by the Mumbai court were enforceable, except for the order related to "causing the disappearance of evidence of the crime".

India has given a number of assurances to Belgium regarding Choksi's safety, the charges that he would face during trial in India, prison arrangements, human rights and medical needs.