Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, who led India’s case in the U.S. Supreme Court to extradite 26/11 Mumbai attack accused Tahawwur Rana, will now head the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) prosecution team in Delhi.

Rana, who had worked closely with David Coleman Headley (also known as Daood Gilani), a U.S. citizen and a key planner of the 26/11 attacks, is now on his way to India. This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his review petition against extradition on April 4. Krishnan, who has been involved in the extradition process since 2010, will be working with Special Prosecutor Narender Mann. Mann is an experienced criminal lawyer who has previously represented the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Delhi High Court. According to sources, other legal representatives involved are advocates Sanjeevi Sheshadri and Sridhar Kale, as well as the NIA counsel. A major development took place in May 2023 in the case that began back in 2018.

Rana had helped his associate, Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley (also known as Dawood Gilani), get passports so he could travel to India and scout locations for a terror attack. This attack was being planned by the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba with help from Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI. According to the NIA, Rana even celebrated the deaths caused by the Mumbai attacks on November 26, 2008, and said the attackers should be awarded Pakistan's highest military honors after their deaths. So far, only Ajmal Kasab — the only Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist caught alive during the 26/11 attacks — has been prosecuted.

"The most important decision of his extradition came on May 16, 2023, being the first judgment by the Magistrate Judge, US District Court of the Central District of California," said a source close to the extradition proceedings. The Magistrate Court supported Krishnan's argument when it approved the extradition, stating that Rana's case did not amount to double jeopardy.

The case involved strong legal arguments between Krishnan and Paul Garlick QC, an expert in extradition law who represented Rana. Garlick argued that it was a case of double jeopardy, but Krishnan said that it depends on the elements of the crime itself, not just the actions of the accused. Double jeopardy means punishing a person twice for the same crime. The court agreed with the arguments made by Krishnan, who represented the Indian government along with the US Department of Justice. Another important win came when a US District Judge rejected Rana’s appeal on August 10, 2023. After facing a setback, Rana took his case to the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, but it was rejected on August 15, 2024, according to the source.

Rana, who is 64 years old, a Canadian citizen, and originally from Pakistan, then turned to the US Supreme Court for help. However, the Supreme Court also denied his request on January 21, 2025. Finally, on April 4, the US Supreme Court rejected Rana's review petition, which was his last attempt to stop his extradition, the source said. Back on November 26, 2008, ten terrorists from Pakistan carried out coordinated attacks in Mumbai. They targeted the CST railway station, two luxury hotels, and a Jewish center after entering the city through the Arabian Sea. The three-day attack led to the death of 166 people.