The Customs Department at Surat in Gujarat moved a local court yesterday, requesting that fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi be declared an absconder in a duty evasion case. The department filed an application before Chief Judicial Magistrate B H Kapadia, seeking to proclaim Nirav Modi as absconder under the Code of Criminal Procedure after he failed to respond to an arrest warrant issued by the court in July.

Public prosecutor Nayan Sukhadwala said that a case for alleged customs duty evasion has been registered against Nirav Modi by the central excise commissioner's office here. Nirav Modi's firm here had imported rough and unpolished diamonds under a government scheme, whereby import duties were waived if the material was meant for export after processing.