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 last year, was on Wednesday postponed to May 5.
District judge Nicholas Evans, hearing the case at the City of Westminster magistrates’ court, after proceedings that lasted some 90-odd minutes agreed to postpone the hearing so that relevant evidence in the extradition could be placed in the court. “Given the seriousness of the case, I am of the opinion that a further adjournment is appropriate,” Judge Evans said at the end of the session.
Shankaran, a close relative of the then Naval Chief Admiral Arun Prakash, has faced an Interpol Red Corner notice since 2006. He was arrested in London on April 21 last year and has been facing extradition proceedings since then.
Mr Shankaran’s co-accused in the case are former IAF Wing Commander Sambhaji Rao Surve, former Naval Commanders Vinod Kumar Jha and Vinod Rana, Raj Rani Jaiswal, Mukesh Bajaj, Wing Commander S.K. Kohli (Retd.), Kashyap Kumar and Kulbushan Parashar. The Central Bureau of Investigation had filed a case against all the accused in March 2006.
Judge Evans also raised the issue of delay in the progress of the extradition proceedings and said the prosecution and defence had failed to meet the deadlines that the court had fixed for the proper progress of the case. Allowing an adjournment of 12 weeks, Judge Evans said that the case hearing would proceed regardless if relevant documents are not received in court by that time.
Mr Shankaran’s defence counsel, who put in an oral plea for return of part of £50,000 deposited with court as part of the Mr Shankaran’s bail conditions, objected to the adjournment and claimed that “there were real fundamental defects in the case.”