Tahawwur Rana asked US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to stop his extradition to India after Justice Elena Kagan rejected his review petition, citing health issues and torture fears.
26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana has filed a request with US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to stop his extradition to India, citing health concerns. This comes days after the US Supreme Court Judge Elena Kagan rejected his review petition.
The application has been distributed to the Supreme Court judges for a conference scheduled for April 4, 2025, according to information published on the US Supreme Court website. Rana has renewed his application, seeking a stay on his extradition to India.
“Petitioner Tahawwar Rana has renewed his Emergency Application for Stay Pending Litigation of Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, which was previously addressed to Justice Kagan, and requests that the renewed application be directed to Chief Justice Roberts,” his appeal stated, as per the order published on the US Supreme Court’s website.
Earlier this month, Justice Elena Kagan denied Rana’s request for a stay on his extradition to India. In his application, Rana argued that he would not survive long enough to be tried in India due to various health-related reasons.
In his appeal, Rana stated, “If a stay is not granted, there will be no review at all, and the US courts will lose jurisdiction, leaving the petitioner in imminent danger of death.”
The accused in the 26/11 terror attacks claimed that if extradited to India, there is a high likelihood he would be subjected to torture due to his Muslim faith and Pakistani origin. He argued that because of his religion, his ethnicity, his past association with the Pakistani Army, the nature of the charges related to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and his chronic health conditions, he is particularly vulnerable to torture, which could result in his death in a short period.
In addition to these concerns, Rana highlighted his deteriorating health, which includes a 3.5 cm abdominal aortic aneurysm at immediate risk of rupture, Parkinson’s disease with cognitive decline, and a mass suggestive of bladder cancer.
He contended that he cannot be sent into a “hornet’s nest”, where he will be targeted due to national, religious, and cultural animosities. Earlier in February, US President Donald Trump announced the extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India, stating that he would face justice. This announcement was made during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after their bilateral meeting.
