Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi has filed a judicial review plea in the High Court of Roseau to quash the proceedings against him in the country, Caribbean website Nature Isle News reported on Tuesday.
Mehul alleged that his arrest for illegal entry in Dominica was not taken independently; it was dictated by the Indian government’s representative. His plea names Alleyne Maxima the immigration minister of the Caribbean nation, the investigating officer of the case, and its acting police chief Lincoln Corbette.
Mehul was arrested in Dominica. Choksi had been living in Antigua and Barbuda after he escaped India. The Ministry of Immigration in Dominica declared Mehul a prohibited immigrant.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in India want Mehul in connection with the Rs 13,000-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case. After fleeing from Antigua and Barbuda he was held in Dominica on May 26.
He filed a plea to quash proceedings against his arrest because in his opinion his alleged arrest in Dominica is not a product of independent judgment.
“They (Dominican government) allowed themselves to be dictated by third parties, representatives of the Indian government,” Choksi said.
Thus his alleged arrest stands null and void; the charges violate the law of Dominica. He pleaded before the Dominica High Court
Nature Isle News reported that Choksi’s plea also sought a permanent order to stay the criminal charge against him for the breach of section 27A of the Immigration and Passport Act. His petition urged the court to cancel the criminal charges under the Immigration and Passport Act.
Citing his reasons for his presence in Dominica, he claimed that he was kidnapped from Antigua and Barbuda and Indian men forcefully brought him to Dominica.
Mehul Choksi added that the Dominican police did not launch an investigation into his allegations. He said that the arrest and prosecution of the applicant is a violation of the process of the court.