Hearing Against Nadeem Begins In London Today

A magistrate at the Bow Street court here will begin hearings today to determine whether there is a case against music composer Nadeem Akhtar Saifi in the murder of music magnate Gulshan Kumar in Mumbai.

Nadeem, 43, was arrested and then released on bail last week after being charged with conspiring to murder Gulshan Kumar. He was arrested by Scotland Yard after the Mumbai Police moved through Interpol to seek his extradition. Nadeem failed to return to India despite announcements that he would go back soon.

The Bow Street court hearing will determine whether Nadeem has a case to answer, a legal provision that amounts to finding out whether a prima facie case exists against him, a spokesman of the Crown Prosecution Service here said. The Crown Prosecution Service will represent the Indian government in the court of the magistrate.

Nadeem, who is evidently determined to fight his return to Mumbai as far as it will go, is being represented by the solicitors Henri Bradman & Co.

The magistrate at the Bow Street court has no brief beyond determining whether prima facie there is a case against Nadeem. But arguments in an extradition case such as this can amount to a virtual murder trial in a court that has no brief to pronounce judgement on murder, experts say.

Officials in London who monitored the case against alleged underworld leader Iqbal Memon closely two years ago say that the Mumbai Police could make a convincing case only if they do their homework right.

The case by the Mumbai police against Iqbal Memon failed because the Indian government supplied information that was demonstrated and then admitted to be incorrect in the court of the magistrate.

The quality of the prima facie evidence produced before the magistrate will decide whether an order is passed to extradite Nadeem to India. The spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said the process can take several weeks.

But any order to extradite Nadeem will not necessarily end the legal prcedure. Nadeem would have the right to appeal to the High Court and if that, too, fails, he can make a final appeal to the House of Lords. But whether he can make the appeal will depend on whether the magistrate or then the High Court give him leave to appeal to a higher court.

A refusal of leave to appeal in Britain can also lead to an appeal before the European Court of Human Rights. Such appeals are made often to gain time as much as to seek a review.

Nadeem has so far been in hiding in the house of his cousin Nazish Chouglay in north London. His wife Sultana is with him. The music director had, initially, deferred returning to India citing his wifes health grounds. Sultana, has reportedly had a miscarriage.