US Supreme Court Rejects 26/11 Accused Tahawwur Rana’s Plea Against Extradition

New Delhi: Mumbai 26/11 terror attack accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana’s plea to stop his extradition to India was rejected by the United States Supreme Court.

After Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan refused to grant a stay on Rana’s extradition, his counsel renewed an emergency application, requesting that it be placed before the Chief Justice of the United States, as per report.

The 63-year-old Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, is currently jailed at a metropolitan detention center in Los Angeles. He is known to be associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist David Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which resulted in the death of 175 people.

Earlier this week, Rana filed an “Emergency Application For Stay” with the Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court and the Circuit Justice for the Ninth Circuit as an urgent plea.

The application mentioned that he would not survive long enough to be tried in India for various reasons. He claimed that if sent to India, there was a very high likelihood of being subjected to torture due to being a Muslim of Pakistani origin.

Rana also expressed fear that survival would be unlikely due to the torture faced because of chronic health conditions. According to media report, the Human Rights Watch 2023 World Report was also cited by him, documenting the BJP-led government’s systematic discrimination and stigmatization of religious minorities, particularly Muslims.

Rana’s plea was rejected after President Donald Trump announced that his administration had approved the extradition of the “very evil” terror accused, who is wanted by Indian probe agencies for his role in the 26/11 attacks, “to face justice in India.”
Mumbai Terror Attack

On November 26, 2008, terrorists from Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out deadly attacks at multiple locations in Mumbai, including Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station and the Taj Hotel. Ten members of the Pakistan-based Islamist militant group entered India by sea and launched 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across the city.

David Coleman Headley played a key role in planning the attacks, and Tahawwur Rana was closely associated with him. In 2011, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet against Rana and eight others for planning and executing the four-day-long terror attacks at major locations in Mumbai.

A day after the US President approved Rana’s extradition, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured that Mumbai’s security forces were prepared to handle high-profile criminals like Rana. Referring to Ajmal Kasab, one of the ten attackers who was executed in 2012, Fadnavis said, “We kept Kasab. What is the big deal? We will keep him for sure.”