Extradition can be defined as the surrender of an alleged or convicted criminal by one state to another. (Besides the legal aspects of the process, extradition also involves the physical transfer of custody of the person being extradited to the legal authority of the requesting country). It is typically enabled by a bilateral or multilateral treaty. Some states extradite without a treaty (in rare cases). For example, if A has committed a crime in India and ran away to Canada, India can ask Canada to extradite A to India.
In other words, it can be described as the process by which one state upon the request of another, surrenders a person found within its jurisdiction for trial and punishment (if already convicted) for the crime committed in a requesting state and committed outside the territory of the state, the request is made to. The country in which he has committed the crime may try him differently (as per the laws of the country). It could be a case of absconding or running away in the middle of legal proceedings. Thus, it is essential to bring him back to finish the trial.
The Government of India (“GOI”), in recent years, has taken a stand against economic offenders fleeing to foreign countries to evade criminal charges. India has signed extradition treaties with almost 48 countries as per the information on the website of the Ministry Of External Affairs https://mea.gov.in/leta.htm
The GOI has made efforts to ink extradition treaties with more countries, including Afghanistan, Lithuania, Malawi and Morocco. The enforcement agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate have also been working efficiently to bring offenders back to India through the process of extradition.
Extradition is often a complex process and is executed through the relevant extradition treaties or extradition arrangements, as well as the domestic laws of the country that receive the extradition request from the country that demands extradition of the accused or convicted individual. Extradition treaties are bilateral treaties providing a defined legal framework and obligate the contracting states to coordinate with each other, in terms of extradition of individuals who are accused, charged with or convicted of extraditable offences. On the other hand, extradition arrangements are non-binding and do not carry legal obligations on the party states.
In India, the extradition of a fugitive from India to a foreign country or vice versa is covered by the provisions of the Extradition Act, 1962, which forms the legislative basis for such law. The act lays down the first principles of extradition law. The obligation to extradite is due to treaties, arrangements and conventions entered into by India with other countries. Under Section 3 of the Extradition Act, a notification can be issued by the Government of India, extending the provisions of the Act to the countries notified.
Extradition treaty, as per Section 2(d) of the Extradition Act 1962 of India, means a treaty, agreement, or arrangement with a foreign state relating to the extradition of fugitive criminals.
Few International Treaties for extradition between India and other countries are as follows:
Treaty between India and Germany: India and Germany have signed an extradition treaty in Berlin on 27th June 2001. The treaty enables both the countries to extradite a person wanted in extraditable offences implying a person can be extradited for only those offences, which are recognized as a crime in both the countries and for this purpose some crimes have also been specified in the treaty.
Treaty between India and Russia:India and Russia have signed an extradition treaty and this was approved and brought into force by Russia on 15th April 2000.
Treaty between India and Spain: The extradition treaty between these 2 countries was filed in June 2002.
Treaty between India and France: These two countries signed the treaty on 24th January 2003, before this treaty there were many criminals or terrorists who were to be extradited to India for the death penalty, but India removed such apprehension by giving an understanding that terrorists extradited to India would not be given the death penalty.
Treaty between India and Canada: In order to make cooperation between the two countries more effective against the crime by making provisions for the extradition of offenders the Government of India signed an extradition treaty on 6th February 1987.
Treaty between India and Hong Kong: The treaty between India and Hong Kong was signed when Hong Kong was not part of China, in the middle of 1997. Since China has announced that it will abide by international treaties signed during the British Rule, it is hoped that China will abide by this treaty.
Treaty between India and USA: India and America have been cooperating with each other for a long time, opposing terrorism. In several cases in the past, America has cooperated with India in respect of extradition of the criminal, who after committing the crime had fled away to that country.
Treaty between India and The UK: As per past experiences, India has faced disappointment when it comes to extraditing fugitives from the UK. India and the UK entered into an extradition treaty in 1992. However, between 1992 and 2016, India has successfully extradited only one individual from the UK, Mr. Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel who was extradited on 18 October 2016 in relation to the offence of murder. In contrast, India has made at least 23 extradition requests to the UK during this period. However, recently, India has had some success in terms of the extradition proceedings against Mr. Sanjeev Chawla, accused of being involved in a match-fixing scandal and Mr. Vijay Mallya accused of being involved in banking fraud.
Since 2002, foreign countries have extradited 75 fugitive offenders to India. Of these, 24 fugitive offenders have been extradited to India in the last five years. These individuals have been extradited to India from more than 20 countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Canada, United States of America and United Kingdom (“UK”). At least 51 extradition requests by GOI are presently pending in different foreign jurisdictions.
