Washington: The United States (US) Supreme Court has rejected the plea of Tahawwur Rana — accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks — seeking a stay on his extradition to India. “The application for stay addressed to The Chief Justice and referred to the Court is denied,” the SC order dated Monday, April 7, 2025, stated.
Rana had filed an emergency application with Chief Justice Roberts on March 20, 2025, seeking a stay on his extradition.
Earlier, US Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan had denied a similar plea in March. His request was circulated among the Supreme Court justices for a conference held on April 4, as per the court’s official website.
In his earlier application, Rana argued that he would not survive long enough to be tried in India due to various reasons.
Rana highlighted his deteriorating health. He suffers from a 3.5 cm abdominal aortic aneurysm at immediate risk of rupture, Parkinson’s disease with cognitive decline, and a mass suggestive of bladder cancer. He asserts that he cannot be sent into a “hornet’s nest”, where he will be targeted due to national, religious, and cultural animosity.
Earlier in February, US President Donald Trump announced the extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India and said he would face justice. He made the announcement during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi following their bilateral meeting.
Tahawwur Rana is a known associate of Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the November 26 attacks in Mumbai in 2008. A Pakistani-origin businessman, physician, and immigration entrepreneur, Rana has alleged connections with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Rana’s alleged role in facilitating the attacks has remained a point of contention between India and the United States for years. (With inputs from ANI)
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