ATTEMPTS ON TO EXTRADITE NIRAV, MEHUL AND MALLYA: The
CBI has moved Interpol for Red Corner Notices (RCNs) against fugitives Nirav
Modi and Mehul Choksi, while the government has requested the UK to
extradite Vijay Mallya. With the UK having confirmed Nirav Modi too is on its
soil, a look at the procedures involved in extradition, and which countries
have extradited individuals wanted by India.
How far will an Interpol RCN
help in bringing back Nirav Modi?
RED CORNOER NOTICE WILL RESTRAIN A FUGITIVE; EXTRADITION
CAN BRING HIM BACK TO INDIA; CAN ALSO BE DEPORTED: An RCN, if issued,
will help restrict travel by Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi using their Indian
passports. If either of them is detected making such an attempt, Indian
agencies will be alerted through Interpol. While it can restrict Nirav Modi
within the UK, the RCN alone will not bring him back. For this, India will need
to send a extradition request for the UK to start the process, once he is
located or provisionally arrested. However, if the UK chooses to deport him,
the two countries need not go through the elaborate procedures of extradition.
What are the rules for
provisional arrest and extradition?
ONCE INDIA SUBMITS REQUIRED DOCS, TREATY PARTNERS OBLIGED
TO CONSIDER REQUEST FOR PROVISIONAL ARREST: India’s treaty partners —
which include the UK — have an obligation to consider requests for provisional
arrest. In the absence of a treaty, India can still make a request, which the
other country will decide in accordance with its laws. In case of urgency,
India may request a provisional arrest pending presentation of an extradition
request. Each extradition treaty specifies the documents required and means
for a provisional arrest request. The concerned law enforcement agency in
India prepares the request and sends it to the Ministry of External Affairs,
which forwards it to the concerned authority of the other country.
An extradition request can be
initiated after a chargesheet has been filed in a court and after the court,
having taken cognisance of the case, has issued orders justifying the
fugitive’s committal for trial, and sought his presence.
What offences are covered
under extradition treaties? (MOST IMPORTANT)
5 PRINCIPLES OF EXTRADITION: While bilateral, most
treaties seem to follow at least five principles: extradition applies only
to offences stipulated as extraditable in the treaty; these must be offences
under the national laws of both countries; the requested country must be
satisfied that there is a prima facie case made out against the accused;
the extradited person must be proceeded against only for the offence for
which extradition was requested; he must be accorded a fair trial.
What is the nature of the
India-UK Extradition Treaty?
It was signed in 1992 and has
been in effect since 1993. As per Article 2, an extradition offence is one
which, under the laws of each state, entails imprisonment for at least one year.
Besides Nirav Modi, which
other fugitives from Indian law are in the UK?
Vijay Mallya is one. India has made eight more
extradition requests to the UK — for Rajesh Kapoor (2011) for forgery
and fraud, Tiger Hanif (2004) for involvement in terrorism, Atul Singh (2012)
for sex crimes, Raj Kumar Patel (2009) for forgery, Jatinder Kumar Angurala and
Asha Rani Angurala (2014) for bank fraud, Sanjeev Kumar Chawla (2004) for
cricket betting and Shaik Sadiq (2004) for conspiracy and theft. These requests
are in various stages of judicial process.
The two countries also share a
list of 60 fugitives wanted by India and reportedly hiding in the UK, while the
latter has provided a list of 17 people whose custody it seeks under the Mutual
Legal Assistance Treaty.
How many has the UK extradited
so far?
Only one, Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel, was extradited to
India in 2016. From the Indian side, Bangladeshi national Mohammad Abdul Shakur, wanted in the
UK for murder, was recently extradited. In 2008, India had extradited
Maninderpal Singh Kohli to the UK in connection with the Hannah Foster murder
case.
Besides these, the UK has
rejected extradition requests for fugitives Raymond Varley, Ravi Shankaran,
Velu Boopalan, Ajay Prasad Khaitan, Virendra Kumar Rastogi and Anand Kumar
Jain. Varley claimed he was suffering from dementia and was not the man wanted
in India for sex crimes. The request for Navy war room leak Shankaran’s
extradition was rejected by a UK court for lack of evidence. Those for the
extradition of Boopalan, Khaitan, Rastogi and Jain, too, were rejected for
insufficient evidence of extradition offences.
With which countries does
India share extradition treaties?
As of now, India has extradition treaties
with 48 countries including the US, the UAE, Hong Kong, Belgium,
Bulgaria, France, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain,
Switzerland and the UK. India has entered into extradition arrangements with
Croatia, Italy and Sweden, as well as Fiji, Italy, Thailand, Papua New Guinea,
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sweden and Tanzania. In countries with which India
does not have a treaty, the government can, by a notified order, treat as an
extradition treaty any convention to which India and the other country are
parties.
In which other countries are
fugitives wanted by India staying at present?
Fugitives abroad include Arup Nag
(UAE), Amit Wadhwa (US) and Vivek Sinha (US) for bank fraud, Mailakkattu
Varghese Uthuppu (UAE) for a recruitment racket, Moideenabba Ummer Beary (UAE)
for smuggling and counterfeiting high value currency, and Christian Michel
(UAE), Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa (Italy) in connection with the Agusta Westland
scam.
Which fugitives has India been
able to bring back so far?
Apart from Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel from
the UK, only four
fugitives have been extradited to India from various countries since
2014. During 2002-13, 54 terrorists and other fugitives were extradited to
India from the UAE, the US, Nigeria, Hong Kong, Germany, Canada, Indonesia,
Bangladesh, Oman, Peru, Mauritius, Morocco, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Belgium,
Bulgaria, South Africa, Australia, Tanzania and Portugal, including a British
citizen each from the US, Tanzania and Bulgaria in 2004-05.
Credit: Indian Express Explained
(http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/cbi-interpol-red-corner-notices-nirav-modi-mehul-choksi-vijay-mallya-extradition-5214907/)
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