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Indian agencies accused of leaking fugitive Nirav Modi’s medical report
James Lewis of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) representing the Indian government denied that the report was leaked by the CPS or the Indian government, while Hugo Keith, Modi’s lawyer, insisted it could only have emanated from within the Indian government.
The alleged leak in India of diamantaire and fugitive Nirav Modi’s medical report by a British doctor figured prominently during his bail hearing in the Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday, with the judge calling it an “unfortunate” thing.
The fifth hearing for Modi’s bail, which was again denied by judge Emma Arbuthnot, began with mention of recent reports in the Indian media quoting ‘sources in the probe agency’ that he is suffering from depression and anxiety. The reports claimed that Nirav Modi, who is lodged in the crowded Wandsworth jail, is playing the ‘health card’ to seek bail.
The judge said: “It is very unfortunate that the report has been leaked. It will undermine the trustworthiness of the government of India if it were proved that they were responsible for the leak”.
James Lewis of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) representing the Indian government denied that the report was leaked by the CPS or the Indian government, while Hugo Keith, Modi’s lawyer, insisted it could only have emanated from within the Indian government.
According to Keith, the reports mentioning Modi’s health condition could only be based on leaks by individuals in the Indian government who had read the medical report, which had been restricted to three stakeholders: Modi’s defence team, CPS and the Indian government.
“The genesis of the press attack was the Government of India”, Keith alleged. Print-outs of the press reports were submitted to the court by Nirav Modi’s team, which alleged that he faced ‘hostile publicity’ in India.
Indian officials who attended the hearing denied that the medical report had been leaked by agencies investigating charges of major financial offences linked to a Mumbai branch of the Punjab National Bank against Modi.
The India news media’s coverage of financial charges against businessmen Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi have often figured in court hearings. Mallya’s team, during an initial hearing, sought directions from Arbuthnot to restrict media access outside the court to prevent him being accosted by a scrum of journalists. She, however, had refused on the ground that she may not have the power to do so.
