US told SC to dismiss 26/11 attack accused Tahawwur Rana’s petition seeking against extradition to India

The United States (US) has told its Supreme Court to dismiss the petition brought by Mumbai terror attack convict Tahawwur Rana to avoid his extradition to India. New Delhi is seeking the extradition of the Pakistan-origin Canadian in relation to the Mumbai Taj Hotel attack in 2008. 

Rana filed the petition on November 13 after losing the legal battle against the extradition in lower courts. He filed a “petition for a writ of certiorari” before the US Supreme Court.

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Rana is currently in jail in Los Angeles and faces charges for his role in the attack. He is said to be associated with the Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, who was one of the main conspirators of the attack. 

On December 16, US Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar said, “The petition for a writ of certiorari should be denied”. 

She further added, “The government does not concede that all of the conduct on which India seeks extradition was covered by the government’s prosecution in this case. For example, India’s forgery charges are based in part on conduct that was not charged in the United States: petitioner’s use of false information in an application to formally open a branch office of the Immigration Law Centre submitted to the Reserve Bank of India”. 

“It is not clear that the jury’s verdict in this case — which involves conspiracy charges and was somewhat difficult to parse — means that he has been ‘convicted or acquitted’ on all of the specific conduct that India has charged,” she said. 

The 2008 attack killed more than 160 people and Rana is expected to be sent to India under the Indo-US extradition treaty. 

(With inputs from agencies)