UK Supreme Court seeks India’s help in unpaid loan case against Nirav Modi

The Supreme Court of England and Wales has approached the Delhi High Court seeking judicial assistance in a loan default dispute case involving Nirav Modi, Bank of India, and Firestar Diamond FZE. The UK court has requested India to help in obtaining the testimony of Animesh Barua, a Delhi-based Bank of India official who is a witness in the unpaid loan case initiated by Bank of India against Nirav Modi and Firestar Diamond.

In this regard, the UK Court had sent a letter to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice under the 1970 Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters. The letter was subsequently forwarded to the High Court by the Ministry.

Advertisement

On the request from the UK Supreme Court, the Delhi HC’s Division Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar highlighted that there hasn’t been any earlier precedent in which an Indian court has acted following a request from a foreign Court, without a party to the foreign litigation approaching it.

The High Court has impleaded the parties to the UK proceedings, including Nirav Modi. However, it stated that they are being impleaded ‘solely for procedural convenience’ and not because the case was pending before the Indian court.

Notices were issued to the Central government and other concerned parties, with instructions to place proof of service on record. Since Nirav Modi is currently lodged at HMP Thameside prison in London, the Court directed that notice be served upon him through the Consulate General of India in the United Kingdom, with the Additional Solicitor General tasked with ensuring proper service.

Next hearing is scheduled for 21 January 2026.