India will move upper court if Nirav Modi gets bail

London [UK], Mar 29 (ANI): India will immediately move upper court if fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi is granted bail following his hearing at the Westminster Magistrate Court on Friday (local time), said sources.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) sources told ANI that fresh evidence against the fugitive businessman has been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) ahead of today's hearing in London.

This includes the three countries he travelled to after his passport was revoked and all the documents which are related to his investigation, sources said.

India, also prepared to respond to a scenario where Nirav Modi moves to a higher court in case he is denied the bail, is seeking Nirav Modi's extradition to make him face the law of the land for allegedly committing economic offences.

A joint team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials arrived here on March 28 for the hearing.

The fugitive diamantaire has been brought to the court for the bail hearing at Westminster Magistrate Court, which was slated to begin at 11 am (local time) on Friday.

This will be Modi’s second attempt at securing a bail after his first request was turned down on March 20. Judge Marie Mallon had cited the “high value of amount involved in the allegations” as the reason behind the rejection of his bail plea.

Presiding over Modi’s bail request is Judge Emma Arbuthnot, who in December last year ordered for Vijay Mallya’s extradition to India to face charges of causing a loss of Rs 9,000 crore to a consortium of banks.

Also present in the court today is Chetan Choksi, brother of Mehul Choksi, who is accused of defrauding ICICI bank’s UK branch of US $25 million back in 2013. Chetan Choksi is the owner of Antwerp-based diamond dealer Diminco NV. (ANI)