New Delhi: Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, who spearheaded India’s legal battle to secure the extradition of the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana from the United States, will now lead the prosecution against him in India. Rana, a close associate of David Coleman Headley — one of the key conspirators behind the 2008 attacks — was formally arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on his arrival at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on April 10.
Krishnan, who has been involved in the extradition proceedings since 2010, will now take the lead in prosecuting Rana on Indian soil. He will be supported by Special Public Prosecutor Narender Mann, a veteran criminal lawyer who has previously represented the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in high-profile cases before the Delhi High Court.
The prosecution team will also include advocates Sanjeevi Sheshadri and Sridhar Kale, along with legal counsel from the NIA.
Rana, a Pakistan-born Canadian national, had been fighting his extradition for over a decade in U.S. courts. His efforts came to a conclusive end on April 4, when the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed his final review plea — clearing the way for his extradition to India.
The legal turning point came on May 16, 2023, when a Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled in favor of extradition. In that proceeding, Krishnan’s arguments — asserting that the charges against Rana did not amount to double jeopardy — were upheld. Double jeopardy refers to being tried or punished twice for the same crime, an argument Rana’s defense had heavily relied on.
Krishnan’s legal counterpart during the extradition proceedings, British barrister Paul Garlick QC, had argued the case constituted double jeopardy. Krishnan countered that the circumstances of Rana’s involvement and the elements of the crime warranted a separate legal process in India. His submissions, backed by the U.S. Department of Justice, were accepted by the court.
Rana faced multiple legal setbacks as he appealed the decision. His plea was first dismissed by a US District Judge on August 10, 2023, and subsequently rejected by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 15, 2024. The final blow came on January 21, 2025, when the U.S. Supreme Court denied him any reprieve, and then again on April 4, when his review petition was dismissed — marking the end of a prolonged legal battle.
Rana’s extradition is a significant step forward in India’s pursuit of justice in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, which left 166 people dead and hundreds injured. The coordinated assault by 10 Pakistani terrorists targeted key locations in Mumbai, including the CST railway station, the Taj Mahal and Oberoi-Trident hotels, and the Chabad House Jewish centre. The terrorists infiltrated the city via the Arabian Sea, launching a three-day siege that remains one of the most horrific terror attacks in India’s history.
