INDIA UK EXTRADITION TREATY: TIME TO BRIDGE THE GAP

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INDIA UK EXTRADITION TREATY: TIME TO BRIDGE THE GAP

Extradition is the surrender by one State to another of a person desired to be dealt with for crimes for which he has been accused or convicted, which are justifiable in the Courts of the other States.

The Extradition of fugitives is done per the provisions of the Extradition Act, 1962, and as per
Extradition Treaty or other Extradition Arrangements or International Conventions signed by India
with the Country concerned. The term “extradition “denotes the process whereby, under a Treaty or
upon a basis of reciprocity, one State surrenders to Another State at its request a person accused or convicted of a Criminal offense committed against the laws of the requesting State, such requesting State is competent to try the alleged Offender. The adage “no one can outrun the long arm of the
law” dramatically demonstrates the goals of legal systems when someone commits a crime in one
Country and then leaves, flees, or absconds to another country and lives there.
No matter where they live, those who avoid legal action or criminal arrest will eventually be brought
to justice. However, with the onset of globalization and the rise in interconnectedness, there have
been enough obstacles to this essential goal to make it difficult to achieve. Additionally, it has
become more efficient and affordable to travel, as well as quicker and more accessible, making it
more straightforward for criminals on the run in India to flee to other countries and avoid capture
and prosecution at home. Additionally, because of the globalization of crime, it is challenging to
enforce jurisdiction over offenders who do not currently reside in India. Internationally accepted
Extradition is a procedure that allows for the prompt return of criminal fugitives from other nations.
Extradition is the delivery of a person from one State to another so that they can answer for crimes
for which they have been charged or found guilty and are legally admissible in the courts of the
other State. Requests for Criminals who are the subject of an investigation, are awaiting trial, or
have already been found guilty might request Extradition. Law enforcement organizations must take
numerous safeguards in cases being investigated to ensure that these claims made against foreign
nationals before the courts are supported by prima facie evidence provided by law enforcement
agencies. There are Indian nationals who are economic fugitives. To evade judicial action, many
fugitives travel abroad or disappear to avoid being extradited. In some circumstances, the absence
of dual criminality causes the refusal to extradite a fugitive. If the crime committed is not regarded
as a criminal in either Country, Extradition cannot be authorized. For instance, crimes like bank
fraud, embezzlement, and the use of counterfeit money that pertain to economic crimes in the
nation making the request should be deemed crimes in that Country. Extradition requests may be
turned down if the offenses are political. Many nations refuse to extradite someone whose crime or
offense has political overtones.
INDIA UK EXTRADITION TREATY
India has extradition agreements with 9 other nations in addition to its 47 extradition treaties. But
ever since it was established, the 1993 bilateral extradition pact between India and the UK has faced
difficulties. It has been challenging to remove Indian fugitives’ white-collar crimes from the news for
the past few years. To name a few from a lengthy list, there are Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Lalit Modi. After 28 years of this bilateral Treaty, India has submitted at least 23 requests, but has only

been successful in extraditing one fugitive in 2016.Everyone wonders logically if India confronts the

same challenges as other nations in light of this. Are agreements on Extradition with India fictitious?

Publicly accessible statistics can provide an answer to these queries. Around 75 fugitives from 20

other countries have been returned to India, and the other nations have done the same.

Furthermore, according to data from the Ministry of External Affairs, India has had a 36% success

rate in extraditing criminals from and to foreign nations. Although the data is minimal when

compared to other nations, it is still extremely difficult to extradite fugitives from the UK. Out of 130

requests filed to the UK, the USA has succeeded in extraditing 120 fugitives, in contrast to India’s

zero success rate. Why then do the unusual conditions that the India-UK pact “(the treaty)” raises

make it difficult to bring fugitives to justice? Only by looking at the rejected and ongoing extradition

requests can this be resolved. Most of the time, similar arguments are used to support claims. After

years of work, Sanjeev Chawla, who is suspected of being involved in the match-fixing incident from

2000, was deported to India. An appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding the

subpar conditions in Indian prisons was the main issue that caused the delay. Vijay Mallya, accused

of the largest financial frauds and additional allegations of money laundering, has said that

Extradition is politically motivated and that human rights are being violated in Indian prisons. The

verdicts in the Vijay Mallya case have been heavily relied upon by Nirav Modi, the man on the run

for India’s largest banking fraud. His justification, which alleges a terrible physical condition that

drove him to commit suicide, falls under the category of human rights.

WHY UK IS A SAFE PLACE FOR FIGURATIVES

Indian fugitives frequently travel to the UK where they live opulent lives while avoiding capture. The

UK investment visa (tier 1), also known as the “Golden Visa,” is the cause of this obnoxious lifestyle.

Any investor with 200,000 pounds can stay for up to three years and four months in the UK

economy. Following the additional investment amounts, one can additionally apply for settlement in

the UK.

The “Dual Criminality” principle of international law presents another barrier to Extradition. The

sought and requesting countries’ legal systems must both recognize an offense as a crime. Early in

2017, it became difficult to establish that Vijay Mallya committed the crime of failing to pay the

bank, which is a civil wrong in the UK. India’s laborious efforts eventually paid off when it was able to

establish dual criminality, causing the proceedings to be delayed.

Most often, the human rights defence is supported by this argument. Due to ECtHR, which was

founded under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which the UK is also bound by,

this argument has a strong foundation. Anytime there is a claim of torture, inhumane conditions,

degrading treatment, or any other behaviour that violates a person’s rights as protected by the

ECHR, Extradition is prohibited. The most prevalent defence used by Indian fugitives is that India’s

prison system is inhumane. Their argument canters on threats to life, torture in detention, and the

potential for mental breakdown in such appalling conditions. Although the Indian government has

made an effort to offer letters of assurance in each case, the reality that prison facilities fall short of

ECHR requirements cannot be denied.

In addition to the aforementioned grounds, there are a number of other unrelated justifications.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that there are several examples of delays on the side of Indian authorities in obtaining documentation or any necessary compliance because Extradition requires a
lot of channellings of documents and multiple compliances.
Additionally, Extradition may be refused in instances of double jeopardy, meaning a defendant may
be exonerated if he had previously been charged per UK law.
If it is established that the accusations made against the accused were made in bad faith, Extradition
may also be refused under the terms of Article 9 (c-iii) of the Treaty. Additionally, if it can be
demonstrated that the prosecution is biased, repressive, unjust, or discriminating, it may be
employed again.
ADDRESSING THE GAPS
Nearly 30 years have passed since the pact’s signing, and the seriousness of the crimes committed
by fugitives has significantly increased. When compared to today’s market, where cases involving
frauds totalling thousands of crores have become all too typical, the 1992 Harshad Mehta case used
to be the year’s high point. The continued deception and inability to apprehend fugitives
demonstrate how useless the deal has become. This necessitates the creation of a new, revised
treaty that outlines steps for accelerating the process and reducing needless delays. Additionally,
India should exert more significant pressure or deepen its connections with the UK in relation to this
specific issue, which the British Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has also promised has improved during
her tenure. In the cases of both Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, the enhanced connection has
unquestionably been beneficial.
The creation of a specific task force for Extradition under the direction of the Ministry of External
Affairs is another innovation that is likely to simplify the extradition procedure. Multiple delays
result from the CBI or Enforcement Directorate handling paperwork and other necessary
procedures. In addition, in the past, police have displayed sluggish behaviour when filing
chargesheets, which has caused additional delays. It will be easier for several authorities to bring
charges against fugitives if a specific investigation is conducted, and establishing a dedicated task
force will speed up the process.
Lastly, let’s talk about the most difficult reform—the State of human rights. There is no shadow of a
doubt about Indian prison conditions, and police handling of suspects has come under fire multiple
times. One such change India should implement is the introduction of specific prisons or cells for
extradited inmates. Whether guilty or innocent, everyone has the right to protect their life, liberty,
and human rights6; therefore, it can be difficult to apprehend fugitives from an ECHR member who
takes a strong stance in favour of human rights. Government assurances are insufficient to satisfy
the ECHR court; India must modify its prison system to comply with ECHR international norms.
SUGGESTION
Even with binding treaty mechanisms, the Extradition of fugitives is a very drawn-out, complicated
process that significantly depends on the national politics and legislation of the requesting State

since Extradition is primarily a sovereign decision. However, there are some contributing elements.
India has authority over Extradition, which it can use to address these problems and raise its success
rate. First and foremost, India needs to expedite the extradition request process as soon as possible
following reciprocity and goodwill.
Secondly, the Indian government needs to work hard to sign extradition agreements with as many
nations as possible and take the initiative to establish new bilateral extradition agreements.
Lastly, the government should implement reforms to India’s prison system. It is frequently
interpreted as a plea by the fugitive during the Extradition hearing that India’s prisons are not in
good shape. Additionally, they frequently endure inhuman treatment and torture, which violates
their rights as guaranteed by Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights
CONCLUSION
Extraditing fugitives who have committed economic crimes is of the utmost importance, urgency,
and necessity since it is necessary for the growth of a country. Make a country strong and developed
in all areas, including agriculture, education, technology infrastructure, and any other area where a
country or nation could want to establish an armed force or Défense system. The nation’s economy
must be robust since it is essential to the development of a nation. It becomes challenging for a
country to address the current economic difficulties if its weak or severely deteriorated. Therefore, it
is necessary to extradite those fugitives to India who has committed an economic crime in India and
fled the nation to hold them accountable before an Indian court and subject them to severe
punishment. The principles of international cooperation and state diplomacy are the primary
sources of Extradition. Strong international ties with several nations aid an extradition treaty’s
establishment. Extradition agreements with ambiguities or flaws cause years of fruitless attempts to
apprehend fugitives. India has struggled to extradite criminals to India so they can stand prosecution
ever since the India-UK pact went into effect. It has been 29 years, and just 36% of extradition
requests have been successful. Therefore, a proactive change in the extradition process is long
overdue. Despite its efforts to eventually obtain a favourable decision, India has a new challenge
when these fugitives either declare bankruptcy or make a suicide attempt.
It becomes essential for India to update long-standing extradition agreements and include clauses
that speed up the process. With the legislation changing, it is necessary to create a dedicated agency
with a task force focused on extraditing criminals to India without battling for compliance at every
level of government. The standard textbook Défense in such situations is that jail circumstances are
subpar, and it is the strongest of all other defenses. To satisfy international standards, protect
fundamental human rights, and avoid endangering the lives of prisoners, it is urgently necessary to
reform Indian jails.
Due to the steadily rising number of economic crimes, India needs to be on guard and implement
stringent changes to ensure quick and effective extradition procedures and dissuade criminals on the
run from the law from leading a hedonistic lifestyle free from the reach of Indian authorities.

About the Author:
Faheem ul islam is Pursing Master’s in International politics from Department of Strategic and
Security Studies Aligarh Muslim University

Author Profile

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