Image source: SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images
IPL founder Lalit Modi, living in London, has acquired British citizenship. He gave this information during his address at Oxford Union on 14 November.
Describing Britain as his home for many years, Lalit Modi expressed gratitude towards its people, institutions, traditions and values. He described British citizenship as a special occasion full of pride, gratitude and responsibility.
Lalit Modi told that on September 15, 2026, he had celebrated acquiring British citizenship in a ceremony organized in the presence of family and friends.
However, after his announcement, the discussion in India regarding the ongoing investigation against him and efforts to bring him back has intensified.
Questions are being raised whether it will now be difficult for India to bring him back and carry forward the ongoing investigation against him?
These allegations against Lalit Modi
Image source: X/Lalit K Modi
Lalit Modi played an important role in the beginning of the Indian Premier League (IPL) of cricket in the year 2008. However, he came into controversy after allegations of financial irregularities and agreements related to TV broadcast rights of IPL.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) removed him from the post of IPL chairman in 2010. After this, in May 2010 he left India and went to London.
Charges related to alleged financial irregularities, auction bidding rigging, money laundering and violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) surfaced against him.
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According to news agency PTI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also investigated alleged financial transactions and unauthorized fund transfers related to IPL.
In 2015, a special court had issued a non-bailable warrant against him for not responding to summons in a money laundering case.
However, Lalit Modi has been rejecting these allegations. He says that he has not been convicted in any criminal case and it is wrong to call him a 'fugitive'.
In July this year, an appellate tribunal had also quashed the fine imposed on him in a separate FEMA case related to the 2009 edition of the IPL.
How difficult was it to bring Lalit Modi to India?
Image source, ANI
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Former diplomat and international affairs analyst KP Fabian believes that the chances of bringing Lalit Modi back to India may now be quite weak.
Talking to NewsX, he said that the extradition system between India and Britain is not very strong. In such a situation, bringing Modi to India after acquiring British citizenship may become more challenging.
According to Fabian, if Lalit Modi is now a British citizen, then it remains to be seen on the basis of which charges India demands his extradition and how the British system views that demand.
He said, "The extradition arrangements between India and Britain are not very strong. In such a situation, it may be possible for people wanted in India to get asylum in Britain. In short, the chances of bringing Lalit Modi back to India to face charges appear very slim."
Fabian also raised questions on the British government's decision to grant citizenship. He said that when there are serious allegations against Lalit Modi, then giving him citizenship by Britain is not the right decision.
According to him, if Britain did not allow the extradition of Lalit Modi earlier when he was an Indian citizen, then now after becoming a British citizen, the possibility of this happening seems even less.
On the other hand, Advocate Rohit Dandriyal does not agree with KP Fabian.
He says that citing the extradition treaty signed between India and Britain in 1992, he said that there is no such provision in Article 4 of the treaty, under which a person can be exempted from extradition just because he has acquired the citizenship of another country.
Rohit Dandriyal told BBC News Hindi, "There was an extradition treaty between India and Britain, which came into force in 1993. It is clear in its Article 4 that there is no obstacle in extradition on the basis of citizenship. Therefore, getting British citizenship has not created any such difficulty for India due to which extradition could not take place."
According to him, after acquiring British citizenship, Lalit Modi can definitely get some practical facilities.
For example, they can apply for a passport and access services like travel, passport renewal etc. as a British citizen. For this they will not need to go to the Indian Embassy. But these facilities should not be seen as legal immunity from extradition.
It is noteworthy that Rohit Dandriyal has also represented American citizen Matthew Aaron VanDyke. He has been the defense lawyer in the high-profile National Investigation Agency (NIA) case involving VanDyke.
Did the extradition process ever formally begin?
At the same time, Advocate Zulfikar Memon believes that the most important question in this case is whether the Government of India had ever formally started the extradition process against Lalit Modi.
Zulfikar Memon has been one of the main lawyers of Nirav Modi in India in the PNB fraud case.
Apart from Nirav Modi, he has represented many high-profile clients like Mehul Choksi, Rakesh Wadhawan and Rashesh Shah.
Zulfikar Memon told BBC News Hindi that the extradition process against Lalit Modi was not taken forward like the cases of Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya.
According to the information given in Parliament by the Ministry of External Affairs, the extradition process could not be started due to non-receipt of formal documents from the investigating agencies.
However, the government made a formal request to deport him in November 2012, which was rejected by the British government on 21 December 2012, citing the Immigration Act.
Apart from this, despite efforts by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to issue an Interpol Red Corner Notice and a 'Letter of Request' sent under the India-UK Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) in 2017, Lalit Modi's return was not possible.
Advocate Memon said, "As per my knowledge, no extradition process had been initiated against Lalit Modi. The same process as was adopted in the cases of Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya was not adopted in the case of Lalit Modi. Therefore, his extradition was already difficult, but now after getting British citizenship, it may become more challenging."
He said that after getting British citizenship, the government there will see Lalit Modi as a British citizen, in such a situation, aspects related to his security and civil rights will also be considered.
How different is Lalit Modi's case from Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya?
Lalit Modi's case is often compared to that of Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. However, according to Zulfiqar Memon, there is a big difference in these cases.
Memon said, "In the case of Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya, the Government of India had started the extradition process on the basis of available evidence. In that process, they were also given the option to present their side and challenge the extradition. But in the case of Lalit Modi, as per my knowledge, no such process was started."
Actually, efforts were made in Lalit Modi's case, but like Nirav Modi or Vijay Mallya, they could not reach the level of active 'extradition trial' in the British courts.
Getting British citizenship does not mean that Lalit Modi's extradition to India has become completely impossible.
There is an extradition treaty between India and Britain and being a citizen of any country is not in itself a ground for immunity from extradition.
However, British courts will have to examine the legal conditions and possible objections to extradition. After this, the role of Britain's Home Secretary will also be important.
Experts believe that India may still have a legal recourse, but it would require strong charges, sufficient evidence and proper legal process.
Published by Collective Newsroom for the BBC.
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