Revision as of 00:23, 20 November 2018

India's extradition laws

The basics explained

India has extradition treaties with 37 nations, Mar 27 2017: The Times of India

February 17, 2018: The Times of India

Extradition is governed by the Indian Extradition Act, 1962 India has extradition treaties with 47 countries. Which means these countries generally accept that the offender will be treated as criminal in both countries. India also has extradition arrangements with 9 countries, which means India and these countries agree to assist mutually each other in “legal procedures”.

What is extradition?

Extradition is simply the surrender of a criminal to one country by another. It also helps in maintaining the territoriality of the penal code, which says that a country should not apply its criminal law to a person who committed an offence outside its territories except when the crime is related to a particular country's national interest. The process is regulated by treaties between the two countries.

What are the internationally accepted extradition conditions?

There is a general consensus about a few conditions of extradition. The crime should fulfill the criterion of dual criminality it's a punishable offence in both countries. For instance, homosexuality might be a crime in a country while it is accepted in another. In that case, the first country cannot request the second to extradite a person who is charged with a homosexuality related offence. Political criminals are generally not extradited. Some countries refuse to extradite if the kind of expected punishment is abolished or is not administered in their own territories.

How does British extradition law work?

UK has three types of extradition arrangements. The first deals with European arrest warrants, the second applies to countries with which the UK has international extradi tion arrangements and lastly those with which the UK doesn't have extradition treaties or arrangements. India falls in the second category and hence Vijay Mallya will get extradited according to this process if it happens at all. The first step in this process is an extradition request made to the secretary of state, who then decides whether to cer tify the request or reject it. In Mallya's case, the secretary of state has certified his extradition. His case will now go to a district court and if the judge is satisfied that enough information has been provided, he she can issue an arrest warrant which will follow a preliminary hearing succeeded by an extradition hearing. If convinced that the person has committed an offence that qualifies for extradition, the judge rule so. This will then be passed on to the secretary of state who would order extradition. Mallya or the Indian government can go to the high court or Supreme Court if they are not satisfied with the order.

What are India's extradition laws?

In India, the Extradition Act, 1962 regulates the surrender of a person to another country or the request for arrest of a person in a foreign land.The Act specifies a list of extradition offences -an offence provided for in the extradition treaty with that state. The process has to be initiated by the central government. As we have extradition treaties with only 37 countries and extradition arrangements with another 8 countries, where there is no treaty the central government is empowered to take action by releasing a notification and treating any convention to which India and the foreign country are parties as the extradition treaty . If the extradition request has come from two or more countries, the government has the rights to decide which of them is the fittest for the request.

In what situations can the government deny extradition?

If the government finds the case trivial and if it thinks that surrendering of the person is not being made in good faith or in the interests of justice or for political reasons, it can deny the request. If the surrender according to the requesting country's own law is barred by time, the person cannot be extradited from India. If the government feels that the person will be charged with an offence not mentioned in the extradition treaty, it can stop the process. If the person is serving a jail term or is accused of an offence on Indian soil, which is different from the offence for which he or she is wanted abroad, the extradition process can be stopped.

Criminals

Statistics

1993-2008

The infamous who came back to India and those who did not, country-wise, 1993-2008
From: February 17, 2018: The Times of India

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The infamous who came back to India and those who did not, country-wise, 1993-2008

Criminals extradited to India, 2002-16

February 19, 2018: The Times of India

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Criminals extradited to India, 2002-16

Crimes of fugitives brought back to India

Criminals extradited to India, 2002-16
From: February 17, 2018: The Times of India

Crimes of fugitives brought back to India
From: February 17, 2018: The Times of India

How many persons have been extradited to India, for what crimes?

Between 2002 and December 7, 2016, (latest data available), 62 fugitives have been extradited by foreign governments to India, the majority were Indian citizens.

Criminals extradited to and from India, 2012-17

Criminals extradited to and from India and other countries, 2012-17
From The Times of India , October 14, 2017

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Criminals extradited to and from India and other countries, 2012-17

Countries India has extradition treaties with, 2018

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Countries India has extradition treaties with, and extradition arrangements, as in February 2018

The countries with which India has extradition treaties or arrangements

The countries with which India has extradition treaties or arrangements
From: February 19, 2018: The Times of India

Countries India has extradition treaties with, and extradition arrangements, as in February 2018
From: February 17, 2018: The Times of India

Pending extraditions, 2018

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Pending extraditions, country-wise, as in February 2018

The number of persons extradited to India and from India, as in February 2018

Pending extraditions, country-wise, as in February 2018
From: February 17, 2018: The Times of India

The number of persons extradited to India and from India, as in February 2018
From: February 19, 2018: The Times of India

The European Convention on human rights

The Abu Salem case and the European convention on human rights; The Times of India, June 18, 2017

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The Abu Salem case and the European convention on human rights

Jails in India: safety of

2018: UK court says Tihar safe for extraditing fugitives

Naomi Canton, In big win for India, UK court says Tihar safe for extraditing fugitive, November 17, 2018: The Times of India

A UK court has made a landmark ruling that the Tihar prison complex in Delhi is safe to extradite Indian fugitives to. This judgment, in the case of cricket-fixing accused Sanjeev Chawla, could have huge consequences for the Vijay Mallya extradition case.

In a judgment handed down in the high court in London on Friday, Lord Justice Leggatt and Mr Justice Dingemans ruled that the Tihar prison complex “posed no risk” to Sanjeev Kumar Chawla — an Indian-origin British citizen accused of fixing international cricket matches (the Hansie Cronje fix) — after receiving a third assurance from the Indian government about his proposed treatment there.

Now that the Indian government has successfully appealed the decision to discharge Chawla from extradition proceedings, the case will go back to Westminster magistrates’ court for a fresh decision. The secretary of state makes the final decision on whether to order extradition but that decision can be appealed in the high court. A further appeal can be made in the Supreme Court in London.

See also

Mumbai blasts: 1993