The US Supreme Court denied the petition filed by Tahawwur Rana, accused of involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, clearing the final obstacle for his extradition to India. Currently detained in Los Angeles, Rana is wanted by Indian authorities to face prosecution for his alleged role in the attacks. The decision marks a significant step toward justice for the victims of the 2008 tragedy. Authorities are now working on the next steps for his extradition.
The US Supreme Court cleared the path for Tahawwur Rana’s extradition, a Pakistani-Canadian national, to India, marking a significant step in the prosecution of those involved in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Rana is currently detained in Los Angeles, where he awaits extradition to face charges related to the attacks.
On November 13, Rana filed a “petition for a writ of certiorari” with the US Supreme Court, which was subsequently denied. This process is intended to review decisions made by lower courts. Rana had previously challenged his extradition through various legal channels but saw his final appeal rejected by the Supreme Court, following unsuccessful attempts in multiple federal courts, including the US Court of Appeals.
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At 63 years old, Rana was a childhood friend of David Headley, an American citizen sentenced to 35 years in prison for his role in the Mumbai attacks. Rana arrested shortly after Headley’s capture at Chicago’s O’Hare airport in October 2009. In 2011, he was convicted in Chicago for providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in connection with the attacks, as well as for supporting a failed plot to attack the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which published cartoons of the Prophet in 2005.
However, he was acquitted of a more serious charge related to the Mumbai attacks.
In 2011, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed charges against nine individuals, including Rana, for planning and executing the Mumbai attacks. A Delhi Sessions Court issued new non-bailable warrants against the accused in 2014, as the NIA had identified them as absconders.
Last year, the Indian government began preparations for Rana’s extradition, with officials from various investigative and legal agencies meeting at the US Embassy in Delhi to discuss the logistics involved. This meeting, which lasted approximately three hours, focused on the necessary arrangements for Rana’s extradition and his detention upon arrival in India.
This discussion followed the denial of Rana’s request for a rehearing by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on September 23. Earlier, on August 15, the Ninth Circuit had upheld the District Court’s rejection of Rana’s habeas corpus petition, affirming that India had presented sufficient evidence to establish probable cause for the charges against him.
Originally a doctor in the Pakistan Army, Rana moved to Canada in the 1990s and later became a naturalized citizen. He subsequently relocated to the United States, where he founded an immigration consultancy, First World Immigration Services, in Chicago.
Rana’s connection to the 2008 Mumbai attacks lies in his support for Headley, who acted on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba and conducted investigation on key locations in Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal Hotel and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, while posing as an employee of Rana’s consultancy.