He's a flight risk, Dominican HC denied bail to Mehul Choksi

Mehul Choksi, the fugitive jeweller wanted in India, has been denied bail by the Dominica high court on the grounds that he is a "flight risk". Judge Wynante Adrien-Roberts of Dominica High Court also highlighted that Choksi did not have any ties with Dominica and the court could not impose any conditions which will stop him from leaving the country, the Antigua Newsroom reported. Choksi's lawyers argued for bail citing medical grounds and not a flight risk.

Choksi had approached the high court after the magistrate had rejected his bail petition. Currently, he has got interim relief from immediate repatriation to India by the Dominican high court.  The high court also pointed that Choksi proposed he will stay with his brother in the hotel, which is not a fixed address. The court also noted that his trial has not started yet. Choksi has got interim relief from immediate repatriation to India by the Dominican court. The verdict comes a few days after Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit called Choksi an "Indian citizen" and said the courts will decide what happens to him. 

The Indian government filed two affidavits in the Dominica high court establishing Mehul Choksi’s Indian citizenship and the serious nature of the fraud he committed on PNB, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. The affidavits also say that Choksi’s surrender of Indian citizenship was never approved by the authorities and he was an Indian citizen when the crime was committed.