An analysis of the laws of India and the policies of the Government with regards to extradition. The article discusses the procedure of extradition to extradite offenders from India to a foreign State and from a foreign State to India while providing a list of countries with which India holds extradition relationship.
Wed Jul 27 2022 | National & Social | Comments (0)
Every time an offender stealthily leaves India to take refuge in another country, the Government of India starts all over again with its strategy of bringing him back to the nation to make him stand in a trial and punish him for his offence. The biggest question that pops up in such a situation is that of extradition and whether such a relationship exists between India and the nation where the offender has taken refuge. Recently, many cases of bank fraud and white collar crimes have brought the focus to this topic. This article studies the extradition law of India, its extradition treaties and extradition arrangements with other nations.
Britannica defines "extradition" as "the process by which one state, upon the request of another, effects the return of a person for trial for a crime punishable by the laws of the requesting state and committed outside the state of refuge."
Therefore, as part of the extradition process:
Extraditable persons may include:
In India, extradition is regulated by The Extradition Act, 1962 (the Act).
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on behalf of the Government of India acts as the central authority with regards to extradition treaties, arrangements and requests.
As per section 3 of the Extradition Act, the Central Government may issue a notification to extend the provisions of the Act to the country or countries notified.
According to the MEA, India has signed extradition treaties with 47 nations and has extradition arrangements with 11 nations. A full list of all the States with which India holds extradition relationship is given in the tables below.
| S. No. | Country | Year of Treaty |
| 1 | Afghanistan | 2016 |
| 2 | Australia | 2008 |
| 3 | Azerbaijan | 2013 |
| 4 | Bahrain | 2004 |
| 5 | Bangladesh | 2013 |
| 6 | Belarus | 2007 |
| 7 | Belgium | 1901 |
| 8 | Bhutan | 1996 |
| 9 | Brazil | 2008 |
| 10 | Bulgaria | 2003 |
| 11 | Canada | 1987 |
| 12 | Chile | 1897 |
| 13 | Egypt | 2008 |
| 14 | France | 2003 |
| 15 | Germany | 2001 |
| 16 | Hong Kong | 1197 |
| 17 | Indonesia | 2011 |
| 18 | Iran | 2008 |
| 19 | Israel | 2012 |
| 20 | Kuwait | 2004 |
| 21 | Lithuania | 2017 |
| 22 | Malaysia | 2010 |
| 23 | Mauritius | 2003 |
| 24 | Mexico | 2007 |
| 25 | Mongolia | 2001 |
| 26 | Nepal | 1953 |
| 27 | Netherlands | 1898 |
| 28 | Oman | 2004 |
| 29 | Philippines | 2004 |
| 30 | Poland | 2003 |
| 31 | Portugal | 2007 |
| 32 | Russia | 1998 |
| 33 | Saudi Arabia | 2010 |
| 34 | South Africa | 2003 |
| 35 | South Korea | 2004 |
| 36 | Spain | 2002 |
| 37 | Switzerland | 1880 |
| 38 | Tajikistan | 2003 |
| 39 | Thailand | 2013 |
| 40 | Tunisia | 2000 |
| 41 | Turkey | 2001 |
| 42 | UAE | 1999 |
| 43 | UK | 1992 |
| 44 | Ukraine | 2002 |
| 45 | USA | 1997 |
| 46 | Uzbekistan | 2000 |
| 47 | Vietnam | 2011 |
Source: Ministry of External Affairs
| S. No. | Country | Year of Treaty |
| 1 | Antigua & Barbuda | 2001 |
| 2 | Armenia | 2019 |
| 3 | Croatia | 2011 |
| 4 | Fiji | 1979 |
| 5 | Italy | 2003 |
| 6 | Papua New Guinea | 1978 |
| 7 | Peru | 2011 |
| 8 | Singapore | 1972 |
| 9 | Sri Lanka | 1978 |
| 10 | Sweden | 1963 |
| 11 | Tanzania | 1966 |
Source: Ministry of External Affairs
The principle of dual criminality is the essence of extradition. It implies that a crime for which extradition is being sought must be a crime in both the requesting and the requested country. Any extradition treaty being entered into between India and any foreign State requires the principle of double criminality to be satisfied before granting extradition requests. Specifically, the substance and elements of the offence are of utmost importance when an extradition treaty has to be signed.
In India, the process of extradition is partly administrative and partly judicial. The process is also different for both – extradition of an offender from India to a foreign state and extradition of an offender to India from a foreign state.
1) Extradition Request
An extradition request in one of the following modes kicks-off the extradition proceeding in India:
2) Judicial Inquiry
Once the extradition request has been received, the Central Government issues an order to jurisdictional Magistrate to issue a warrant for the arrest of the offender. This Magistrate is generally the Magistrate of First Class who would have had jurisdiction to enquire into the offence if it had been committed locally.
Based on the evidence placed before him, the Magistrate decides whether a prima facie case can be made out against the offender and issues a warrant. Once the offender appears before the Magistrate, the Magistrate enquires into the case by examining the evidence presented in support of the extradition request and the evidence presented against it by the offender. If the Magistrate is satisfied, he issues instructions to imprison the offender and sends his report of inquiry to the Central Government, which confirms it with an order.
3) Removal to the Foreign State
At any time after the offender has been imprisoned, the Central Government may issue a warrant for custody and removal of the offender to the foreign State at the place and to the person specified in the warrant.
1) According to the Comprehensive Guidelines for Investigation Abroad and Issue of Letters Rogatory (LRs) issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs for causing investigation abroad, extradition requests can be after the following conditions have been fulfilled
2) Following this procedure, the request for extradition is made to the Ministry of External Affairs. The request is in the form of a self-contained affidavit issued by the Magistrate, making out a prima facie case against the accused. For this purpose, the Magistrate provides:
3) Finally, with this request, the Magistrate provides the original and open-dated warrant of arrest of the offender in the foreign State, which is then sent to that State with the request of the Ministry of External Affairs to extradite that offender to India.
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