SC rejects plea for production of Indian arrested by FBI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a habeas corpus petition filed by the family of Indian-born and Tokyo-based Rajadata A Patkar, an IITian, who has been arrested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in an alleged blackmailing case.

A bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and D K Jain proceeded to dismiss the petition on the reasoning that the Supreme Court cannot give directions to the US administration, but counsel Nawal K Jha on his own withdrew the same.

Rajadata, who also claimed to have been a Japanese interpreter for the late Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, was arrested by the FBI on March 3, 2007, after being extradited from Tokyo for allegedly blackmailing Robert alias Bob Awana, Secretary to the Governor of Hawai, US.

He was arrested after the US official complained to the authorities of being blackmailed by Rajadata who was threatening to expose Awana's "sexual exploitation" of Jullie Mae who is a Philipine national and also the accused's girl friend.

The allegation against Rajadata was that while working in Tokyo he hacked the e-mail ID of his girl friend from which he learnt of her alleged "sexual exploitation" by the US official. Subsequently, it was alleged that Rajadata started blackmailing Awana.

In the petition, Patkar's mother Snehalata Patkar sought production of her son in India on the ground that his arrest by the US police on "false charges" was illegal and Rajadata being an Indian citizen can be tried only in India for the alleged offence.