GUWAHATI: The US Supreme Court has approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India, where he faces charges related to the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, on Saturday, January 25. The decision rejects a writ petition filed by Rana in November last year.
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The US government had previously supported India's extradition request, urging the Supreme Court to dismiss Rana's petition. Rana, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, had sought to block his extradition through an appeal to the highest US court. On December 16, US Solicitor General Elizabeth B Prelogar filed a response recommending the court to reject his appeal.
Rana had previously been unsuccessful in appealing his extradition in lower courts, including the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco. In August, the Ninth Circuit upheld the extradition, ruling that the India-US Extradition Treaty allows for his transfer.
Rana is connected to Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, a key figure in the planning and execution of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The 2008 attacks, carried out by 10 Pakistani terrorists, resulted in the deaths of 166 people, including six US citizens, and involved a 60-hour siege of multiple locations across Mumbai.