According to local media, absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi has filed a lawsuit in the high court of Roseau, seeking to dismiss the proceedings against him, claiming that his detention in Dominica for unlawful entry was dictated by officials of the Indian government. The complaint was brought against by the Caribbean nation's immigration minister, its police head, and the case's investigating officer.
Choksi, who had gone missing from Antigua and Barbuda after fleeing India in 2018, was apprehended on 23rd May in neighbouring Dominica for unlawful entry. Dominica's Ministry of Immigration labelled him a banned immigrant.
The 62-year-old diamantaire charged in connection with a Rs 13,500-crore scam at the Punjab National Bank has petitioned Dominica's high court, claiming that decision to charge him for illegal entry by Lincoln Corbette, Acting Chief of Police in Roseau, and investigating officer Sergeant Alleyne was not a result of their independent judgement.
Choksi claimed that, they enabled themselves to be commanded to by other parties, members of the Indian government. Choksi asked the high court to dismiss the proceedings against him, claiming that the decision to charge him with unlawful entrance was illegitimate and hence null and void, however according to Caribbean media site Nature Isle News.
Choksi stated that he's also has a citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda, where he has opposed an extradition request. He alleged that Indian guys abducted him from Antigua and Barbuda and forcibly took him to Dominica.
Choksi stated that he told the Dominican police about his incident, but they did not start an inquiry into his claims. “The arrest and prosecution of the applicant is an exploitation of the judicial process since the police who charged the applicant engaged in and/or collaborated with the applicant’s captors in and/or approved the applicant’s forced entrance into Dominica,” he added.
On 6th of July, his attorneys informed the magistrate court where his case of unlawful entrance is being heard that they had filed a plea before the high court. Choksi has asked for a permanent injunction to suspend the criminal accusation issued against him for unlawful entrance.
He has obtained a court ruling indicating that the minister of immigration and national security’s declaration of him as an illegal immigrant violated natural justice principles and is thus null and invalid and of no consequence, according to the report.
