A London court issued an arrest warrant against Nirav Modi in response to an extradition request by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Context
A London court issued an arrest warrant against Nirav Modi in response to an extradition request by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
About
With the advent of globalization and increased interconnectivity, it has become easier for offenders in India to escape to foreign jurisdictions and avoid prosecution in the country. India’s success rate in extraditing fugitives is abysmally low; only one in every three fugitives are being successfully extradited to India.
Extradition
Background:
There is a daily inflow and outflow of communications between Interpol Nw Delhi and National Central Bureaus of member countries which ranges from:
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is India’s nodal government body for extradition matters.
What is Interpol? The word 'INTERPOL' is radio-telegraph code for the International Criminal Police Organization which consists of 188 member countries who have agreed to "ensure and promote the widest possible assistance between all criminal police authorities in the prevention and suppression of ordinary law crimes". The Organization's headquarters is in Lyon, France. National Central Bureau (Interpol) New Delhi
India is one of the oldest members of Interpol, having joined the organization in 1949. The Central Bureau of Investigation, which is a Federal/Central investigating agency functioning under the Central Government, Department of Personnel & Training is designated as the National Central Bureau of India. The Director of the CBI is the ex-officio Head of the NCB-India. All matters relating to the NCB India are, however, dealt with by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. All the State Police forces and other law enforcement agencies in India have a link through Interpol New Delhi to their counterparts in other member countries, through Interpol Global Communications System (I- 24/7) prepared to assist in dealing with criminal investigations. This is the area where the greatest volume of work occurs. |
India has bilateral extradition treaties with 43 countries and extradition arrangements with 10 countries. Unlike treaty mechanisms, where states are obligated to consider requests for extradition, “extradition arrangements” are non-binding and do not impose any legal obligations on party states.
Requests for surrender of fugitives can also be made to non-treaty states. These requests will be considered in accordance with laws and procedures of the foreign state, and with the assurance of reciprocity from India.
India does not have extradition treaties with several neighboring states, such as China, Pakistan, Myanmar and Afghanistan.
Many security threats originate from border areas and flourish due to challenges presented by difficult terrain, harsh climate and poor border infrastructure.
With the absence of a defined treaty mechanism, India finds it difficult to secure the surrender of criminals who flee to India’s Border States.
Issues and Challenges to the Return of Fugitives from Abroad -
In the event that India succeeds in regaining custody of a fugitive, compliance with treaty terms is necessary.
An important treaty clause known as the “rule of specialty” mandates that the extradited fugitive will be prosecuted only for the offence for which he was surrendered.
For example, when India secured the return of Abu Salem from Portugal, the law enforcement agencies framed additional charges against him for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. Portugal widely criticized the move, and the Supreme Court in Lisbon held that India was in violation of extradition rules.
Adherence to treaty commitments is of paramount importance and helps maintain mutual trust, cooperation and reciprocity between countries.
The low numbers of extradited economic offenders (13 as against 28 ongoing investigations) can be attributed to the history of extradition treaties and the legal opinion regarding categorizing financial irregularities as a civil offence rather than a criminal one.
The exclusion for fiscal offences was based on the view that these offences were not criminal conduct, and attracted less moral stigma.
Most of India’s bilateral treaties provide that an individual alleged to have committed fiscal offences would be extradited back to the country.
However, considering that India has only been able to secure the return of 13 economic offenders since 2002, the prospect of securing the return of Modi and Choksi, and other economic offenders, looks bleak.
Extradition procedures are further complicated by unreasonable delays and variance in documentary requirements of foreign countries.
Extradition process
Way forward:
Practice Question:
Globalization has brought new challenges such as offenders fleeing India. In this context, examine how equipped is India to tackle this situation.
Verifying, please be patient.
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