NEW DELHI: Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, who led India’s legal campaign for the extradition of 26/11 Mumbai attack accused Tahawwur Rana in the United States, will now head the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) prosecution team in Delhi.
Rana—who collaborated closely with 26/11 mastermind David Coleman Headley (aka Daood Gilani), a U.S. citizen—is reportedly en route to India following the U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of his final review petition on April 4.
Krishnan, who has been involved in the extradition proceedings since 2010, will be joined by Special Public Prosecutor Narender Mann, a veteran criminal lawyer and former CBI representative in the Delhi High Court. Additional legal support will come from advocates Sanjeevi Sheshadri, Sridhar Kale, and the NIA’s in-house counsel, sources said.
Rana’s legal troubles began in 2018, with the extradition trial in the U.S. gaining momentum. The first major ruling came on May 16, 2023, when a Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California approved India’s extradition request. The judgment upheld Krishnan’s argument that the case did not amount to double jeopardy—a legal principle that prevents an individual from being tried twice for the same offense.
The court rejected claims by Rana’s defense attorney, extradition specialist Paul Garlick QC, who argued that Rana had already been prosecuted for the same conduct. Krishnan countered that it was not merely the behavior but the specific criminal elements that determined whether double jeopardy applied. The court ultimately sided with India, with backing from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Further setbacks followed for Rana:
- August 10, 2023: A U.S. District Judge dismissed his appeal.
- August 15, 2024: The U.S. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) also rejected his challenge.
- January 21, 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court denied his petition for relief.
- April 4, 2025: His final review petition was dismissed, clearing the path for extradition.
Rana, 64, is a Canadian citizen born in Pakistan, accused of aiding Headley in securing fake travel documents to scout locations for the attacks. According to the NIA, he praised the November 26, 2008 carnage in Mumbai—where 10 Pakistani terrorists killed 166 people over three days—and even suggested the attackers be posthumously honored with Pakistan’s highest military award.
So far, Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist captured alive during the attacks, is the only one to have been tried and punished.
With Rana’s extradition imminent, the NIA is preparing for a high-profile trial that could further unravel the global conspiracy behind one of India’s deadliest terror attacks.
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