The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Tahawwur Rana’s appeal which cleared his path for transfer to India. Rana stands accused of facilitating the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks at 64 years old while holding the dual citizenship of Pakistan and Canada. Since India filed their extradition request in 2019 he has served time at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles.
India supports its case by showing how Rana joined forces with chief terror plotter David Coleman Headley to facilitate the attacks known as 26/11. The attack stroked by Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives produced 166 casualty numbers.
In December 2019 India sent its request to Rana’s extradition through diplomatic channels. As confirmation the Biden administration used the 1997 U.S.-India Extradition Treaty to support this measure. Rana pursued Supreme Court review of his case after failing in successful appeals at federal and lower court levels during November 2024. On January 21 the Supreme Court rejected Rana’s petition for help after U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar supported the refusal to provide relief to the petitioner.
Through court proceedings in Chicago Rana secured acquittal on the same criminal offenses which he now faces extradition for. The U.S. government maintained that India’s charges going beyond the U.S. trial scope covered forgery alongside providing false information.
Now that the Supreme Court has issued its ruling Rana will be surrendered to Indian authorities to undergo legal proceedings in connection with the 26/11 attacks investigation.
