US Court Approves Extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India for Mumbai Attacks

Mumbai/Ottawa, 1st January 2025: Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian businessman of Pakistani origin linked to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, is expected to be extradited to India soon. The process to bring Rana to India through diplomatic channels is currently underway.

In August 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Rana was eligible for extradition to India under the extradition treaty between the two nations. The court upheld the denial of his habeas corpus petition, which challenged the magistrate judge’s decision to certify Rana as extraditable for his alleged role in the Mumbai attacks.

The court also confirmed that India provided sufficient evidence to establish probable cause that Rana was involved in the crimes. Rana had been named in the Mumbai Police’s 405-page chargesheet, which accuses him of being an operative of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The chargesheet links Rana to David Coleman Headley, the mastermind behind the attacks, who conducted reconnaissance missions in Mumbai. Rana allegedly supported Headley’s efforts, including assisting with the planning and logistics of the attacks.

In its ruling, the US panel noted that the offences Rana is accused of fall under the terms of the extradition treaty, including exceptions related to double jeopardy. The panel clarified that the term “offence” in the treaty refers to the specific charges, rather than underlying acts, and determined that the charges in India were distinct from those for which Rana had been acquitted in the US.

Rana was arrested by the FBI less than a year after the 26/11 attacks. At the time, he was running a travel agency in Chicago and was involved with Headley in scouting locations for the attack. Investigators claim that the terrorists responsible for the deadly assault used a plan that Rana helped develop.

Rana, along with Headley, is charged with assisting in the terror plot.