26/11 Mumbai Attacks: Extradition of mastermind sparks new developments in Delhi Court

New Delhi [India], February 27 (ANI): In a significant turn of events leading up to the much-anticipated extradition of 26/11 mastermind Tahawwur Hussain Rana, Delhi's Patiala House Court has recalled its trial court records related to the Mumbai attacks.
The move was prompted by an application from the NIA in Delhi, seeking to retrieve these records from Mumbai.
The trial court records had been previously sent to Mumbai due to the presence of multiple cases related to the 26/11 attacks in both cities. This latest development potentially paves the way for Rana's prosecution to take place in Delhi itself.
Recently, the US Government has approved the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India. US President Donald Trump described Rana as one of the plotters and very evil people of the world.
Rana, a 64-year-old Pakistan-born Canadian national, is a close associate of Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. After completing a 14-year sentence in 2023, Rana is currently under supervised detention at a metropolitan detention centre in Los Angeles.
On January 21, The US Supreme Court denied a petition of writ of certiorari filed by Rana seeking to prevent his extradition to India. The writ had been file in November 2024 against an earlier order of a lower court that had ruled in favour of his extradition to India. A writ of certiorari is a legal document that allows a higher court to review a case from a lower court.
Rana was previously prosecuted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The second superseding indictment charged him in three counts. The jury convicted him on Count 11 (conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark). The jury also convicted Rana on Count 12 (providing material support to Lashkar-e Taiyba).
India's charges consist of conspiracy to commit various offenses, including to wage war, to murder, to commit two forms of forgery, and to commit a terrorist act. Rana has remained in custody throughout the extradition process.
Rana opposed extradition but on May 16, 2023, the extradition magistrate judge rejected Rana's arguments and certified that he is extraditable. Rana then petitioned the United States District Court for the Central District of California for a writ of habeas corpus. On August 15, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court affirmed the judgment of the habeas court. The court rejected each of Rana's arguments. (ANI)