Mehul Choksi has challenged the latest ruling permitting his extradition to India. He has filed a petition before Belgium’s Supreme Court, known as the Court of Cassation, seeking to overturn the decision of the Antwerp Court of Appeals that allowed India’s request to take him into custody for the Punjab National Bank fraud case worth about ₹13,000 crore.
The appeal was lodged on October 30. As confirmed by Belgian authorities, this move pauses the extradition process until the court reviews whether the lower court’s ruling had any legal errors. The Court of Cassation will not reassess evidence but will verify if proper legal procedure was followed in approving extradition.
The Antwerp Court of Appeals had earlier upheld a ruling by a district court stating that India’s arrest warrants for Choksi, issued in 2018 and 2021, were legally valid. The court additionally observed that Choksi would not face unfair trial conditions or physical harm if returned to India. This ruling had effectively cleared the formal path for sending him back.
Choksi is accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation of illegally diverting more than ₹6,400 crore in the broader financial fraud against Punjab National Bank. He left India in early 2018 and obtained citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda. After initially taking refuge there, he later surfaced in Belgium, reportedly for medical reasons.
India officially submitted its extradition request to Belgium in August 2024. Since then, the Indian government has provided written guarantees to Belgian authorities regarding Choksi’s safety, medical access, and the fairness of judicial proceedings in India.
With the latest appeal filed in Belgium’s top court, the extradition process is on hold once again. The decision from the Court of Cassation will determine whether the legal pathway remains clear for India to bring Choksi back to face trial.
