Choksi’s defence teams have said that he was kidnapped and brought to Dominica.
New DElhi: As of the end of this week, nine lawyers spread across four countries—India, United Kingdom, Antigua & Barbuda and Dominica—are working together to ensure that fugitive Mehul Choksi continues to stay out of the proceedings of the Indian legal system.
The trial of Choksi, who is accused of entering Dominica illegally on 24 May, was adjourned by the Rouseau Magistrate court from 14 June to 25 June after Choksi stated that he was not well.
The court was also informed by Choksi’s lawyers that three more lawyers will be defending him, which includes Zena Moore Dyer and her daughter Gina Dyer Munro who are regarded as top criminal lawyers of Dominica.
Apart from them, the Choksi team informed the court of the addition of Harpreet Singh Giani, an Indian-born lawyer based in London, as another member of Choksi’s legal team.
These three lawyers have joined the trio of Julien Prevost, Wayne Norde and Cara Shillingford-Marsh who have been representing Choksi in front of the Dominician court.
Choksi’s defence teams have been arguing that rather than entering Dominica, he was kidnapped, beaten and unwillingly brought to Dominica from Antigua in what they have called an operation that was carried out by Indian agencies.
Apart from having his team of lawyers in Dominica, Choksi has also engaged “Justice Abroad”, a one man law firm based in London. The firm, on its website, has claimed that: “The Justice Abroad team with their trusted international pool of multilingual experts, their networks, and media contacts and their well-documented determination to leave no stone unturned in the search for the truth and justice for families who have been denied it, are here to provide that much needed support for families and individuals in their time of need.”
In Antigua, where Choksi is contesting the government’s decision to deport him to India, he has engaged Justin Simon, who has served as Antiguan and Barbudan Attorney General in the past.
According to Indian officials, the case against Choksi in Antigua and Barbuda is at its last leg and they are sure that the court will order Choksi to be extradited to India as he had taken the citizenship of the country fraudulently and illegally.
“The case in Antigua is in our favour and we are just waiting for the judgment. Keeping this in context, why would we kidnap him from Antigua and take him to Dominica in a ‘special operation’ so that from there we can bring him to India as his lawyers are alleging? The entire drama has been done by Choksi who, as facts show, is getting advice from well-paid lawyers,” an official said.
In India, Choksi has engaged lawyer Vijay Agrawal who keeps a tab on the developments taking place in New Delhi and Mumbai and advises his client accordingly.