The US Supreme Court has rejected a petition by 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana, seeking a stay on his extradition to India to face trial.
Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, had filed an “Emergency Application For Stay” with the Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court and Circuit Justice for the Ninth Circuit. In his plea, he argued that his extradition would violate US law and the United Nations Convention Against Torture, as he could face the risk of torture in India. He claimed that the danger was even greater because he is a Muslim of Pakistani origin facing charges related to the Mumbai attacks.
Additionally, Rana cited serious health concerns, arguing that his “severe medical conditions” would make extradition equivalent to a “de facto death sentence.” Medical records from July 2024 indicated that he suffers from multiple life-threatening ailments, including a history of heart attacks, Parkinson’s disease with cognitive decline, suspected bladder cancer, stage 3 chronic kidney disease, chronic asthma, and multiple COVID-19 infections.
His extradition was approved last month by US President Donald Trump. Speaking at a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump confirmed the decision, calling Rana a “very violent man” and stating that more extraditions would follow as part of ongoing US-India cooperation on crime.
Rana, 64, is wanted in India for providing logistical support to the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which carried out the 26/11 attacks. The attacks, which targeted eight locations across Mumbai on November 26, 2008, claimed over 174 lives. Rana has already been convicted in the US for assisting LeT and has ties to David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-American militant and key conspirator in the attacks. India has long sought his extradition to bring him to justice.
