US Supreme Court Clears Way For 26/11 Mumbai Attacks Accused Tahawwur Rana’s Extradition To India

In a major blow to Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian businessman of Pakistani origin wanted by India for his alleged role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the US Supreme Court has rejected his application to halt his extradition to India.

This decision by the highest court in the United States has effectively cleared the path for Rana's transfer to Indian custody to face charges.

Photo Credit: PTI

Rana, aged 64, is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Los Angeles. In February, he had submitted an emergency application to a Circuit Justice of the Ninth Circuit in an attempt to prevent the extradition, but this was declined last month.

Subsequently, he renewed his emergency application and requested that it be directed to Chief Justice John Roberts. According to the Supreme Court's docket, this renewed plea was scheduled for consideration in a conference on 4 April and was referred to the full Court for deliberation.

On Monday, the US Supreme Court website confirmed the outcome, stating: "Application denied by the Court".

India has long been seeking Rana's extradition and had issued a warrant for his arrest back in August 2018.

In a notable development earlier this year, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States in February, then-President Donald Trump publicly confirmed the extradition.

"I am pleased to announce that my administration has approved the extradition of one of the plotters (Tahawwur Rana) and one of the very evil people of the world, having to do with the horrific 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack to face justice in India. He is going back to India to face justice," Trump declared.

Prime Minister Modi expressed his appreciation for Trump's decision, stating: "Tough action is needed against cross-border terrorism". He added, "Grateful to President Trump for deciding to extradite 26/11 terrorist Tahawwur Rana. Our courts will bring him to justice."

Rana is linked to Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, also known as Daood Gilani, who played a pivotal role in orchestrating the Mumbai attacks. Rana stands accused of assisting Headley and other associates in Pakistan in supporting the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in carrying out the attacks.

Prosecutors allege that Rana's immigration law firm in Chicago, along with a satellite office in Mumbai, was used as a front for terrorist operations between 2006 and 2008. Rana, however, maintains that he was unaware of Headley's terrorist plans and insists he was merely trying to help his childhood friend establish a business presence in Mumbai.

In 2011, a federal court in Illinois found Rana guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark, in connection with a foiled plot to attack a Danish newspaper as retaliation for its publication of controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed in 2005.