PNB scam: Belgium top court endorses lower court view; no risk of denial of justice to Mehul Choksi in India

New Delhi: The highest court of Belgium -- Court of Cassation-- has rejected the appeal of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi against India's extradition request, while endorsing a lower court's view that there are no grounds for his claims of flagrant denial of justice, torture or inhuman and degrading treatment in India, according to the order released on Wednesday.

Imposing costs of Euros 104 on Choksi, the court upheld the view of the Indictment Chamber of Antwerp Court of Appeal, which had observed that the documentation provided by Choksi was insufficient to make it concretely plausible that he runs a real, present and serious risk of being subjected to flagrant denial of justice or to torture or inhuman and degrading treatment in the requesting State.

The Court of Cassation does not re-examine the facts or decide whether extradition is fair or wise. Its role is limited to checking whether the law was applied correctly, and whether procedural rules and reasoning duties were respected.

If the lower courts applied the correct legal standards and gave reasons, Cassation must reject the appeal, even if the outcome is controversial, officials said The Court of Cassation's order accessed by the PTI shows that Choksi had based his arguments against the view taken by the Indictment Chamber on his claims of an alleged kidnapping attempt from Antigua, the view taken by the Commission for the Control of Interpol's Files (CCF) on the alleged incident, media coverage and the possibility of not getting a fair trial in India on the grounds of breach of presumption of innocence among other arguments.

The CCF had removed Choksi's name from the Interpol Red Notice list in November 2022 on the basis of his appeal. The CCF is a separate Interpol body which is "not under the control" of the Interpol Secretariat and is mainly staffed by elected lawyers from different countries where people can challenge decisions to declare them fugitives.

Choksi's argument that the prosecutor withheld information on CCF findings on his attempted kidnapping from Antigua from the pre-trial chamber of the Antwerp district court, which had upheld the Mumbai court warrants, also did not find support from the apex court in Belgium.

Even if the person was not summoned and even if the Interpol CCF decision was not submitted initially, his defence rights were still adequately protected because he could appeal, the court noted.

It said on appeal, the Indictment Chamber had full jurisdiction, heard the case adversarially and examined all documents, including the CCF decision.

As long as the person can fully argue his case on appeal, there is no legal violation, even if the first-instance procedure was imperfect, the apex court in Belgium said.

The Court of Cassation found no infirmity in the findings of the Indictment Chamber, which had upheld a lower court order dated November 29, 2024, terming the arrest warrants issued by a Mumbai special court in May 2018 and June 2021 as "enforceable", paving the way for Choksi's extradition.

It noted that the Indictment Chamber judgment answers and rejects the applicant's defence set out in the appeal, without having to respond to every argument put forward in support of this defence, without constituting a separate defence.

It also justified the decision that the grounds for refusal under Article 2a, paragraph 2, of the Extradition Act 1874 (on possible torture) does not apply as a matter of law, as stated in the order given in Dutch.

The court was presided over by Filip Van Volsem, Section President Erwin Francis and Justices Eric Van Dooren, Bruno Lietaert and Jos Decoker.

Choksi had fled from India in the first week of January 2018, days before the Rs 13,000 crore fraud in the PNB was detected.

At the request of the CBI and the ED, Interpol included his name in the list of most wanted fugitives called Red Notice in December 2018.

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 was spotted in Belgium where he had purportedly reached for 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.