The extradition case of Ravi Shankaran, the main accused in the naval war-room leak case who was arrested by the Met police in London on April 21, has been postponed to September 1.
The hearing of the case on Monday, which lasted more than three hours, was involved with procedural issues about the admissibility of evidence sent by the Indian government to facilitate the extradition of 45-year-old Shankaran, who attended the hearing. The case being heard at the City of Westminster magistrates’ court was posted for September 1 to accommodate the holiday plans of district judge Nicholas Evans and Shankaran’s defence team.
Dressed in a steel grey suit, white shirt and black shoes, Shankaran only spoke in the court to confirm his name and his date of birth. He sat with his solicitor Henri Brandman in the court and kept passing notes to his team of two barristers. Shankaran, a close relative of the then Naval Chief Admiral Arun Prakash, has faced an Interpol red corner notice since 2006. Judge Evans was also informed on Monday about Shankaran’s severe hearing disability which he incurred because of his deep sea diving activities.
Shankaran, who kept smiling and talking to his solicitor throughout the hearing, issued a statement through Mr Brandman to claim that he had surrendered to the police and had not been arrested by the police.
“My client voluntarily attended at a police station by prior appointment in the knowledge that he would be charged. He is presently on bail without restriction on his movement. He is not being guarded by armed police,” Mr Brandman told this newspaper. He refused to answer or clarify any details and Shankaran directed all queries to Mr Brandman.
Mr Shankaran has paid £50,000 security for his bail, he cannot apply for international travel documents, does not face a curfew any longer and is under electronic monitoring, the court was informed on Monday.
District judge Evans has yet to decide whether the Shankaran case is a prima facie case. He said on Monday that he will decide on this in due course. Mr Evans is keen to streamline the process by the next hearing so that the hearings directly about the extradition can start.