"Welcome step": Manish Tewari lauds US Supreme Court rejection of Tahawwur Rana's plea
Apr 09, 2025
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], April 9 : Congress MP Manish Tewari on Wednesday lauded the US Supreme Court's rejection of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana's application seeking a stay on his extradition to India.
"If Tahawwur Rana, who was involved in the massacre of innocent people during the 26/11 outrage, is being extradited to India to stand trial for his crimes, it is a welcome step," Tewari told ANI.
Rana has been accused of being involved in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, where innocent people were killed, and is expected to stand trial in India.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh's former Director General of Police (DGP) Vikram Singh applauded the rejection by the Supreme Court to stay extradition request of the 26/11 Mumbai attack accused Tahawwur Rana.
The former DGP stated that the decision was 'significant' and followed high-level discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Donald Trump.
"This decision is significant and follows high-level discussions between Prime Minister Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump. Now, only a few formalities like paperwork and diplomatic procedures remain before this return," Singh said, speaking to ANI.
He further stated that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was fully prepared and would conduct custodial interrogation of the accused along with the Investigation Board and the Mumbai Police.
On April 7, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected the plea of Tahawwur Rana, who sought a stay on his extradition to India.
Rana filed an emergency application with Chief Justice Roberts on March 20, 2025, seeking a stay on his extradition.
"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.
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.
