India – Bangladesh Extradition Treaty

Bangladesh’s interim government has sent an official extradition request to India seeking the return of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

• Bangladesh called on India to handover Hasina “without further delay”, calling it India’s treaty obligation.

About India–Bangladesh Extradition Treaty

• Overview: 
  • India and Bangladesh signed a bilateral Extradition Treaty in January 2013 to strengthen cooperation in criminal justice, counter-terrorism, and security.
  • Mutual Legal Assistance: The treaty enables both countries to hand over individuals who are wanted for serious crimes and are found within each other’s territory.
  • Extra-Territorial Offences: The obligation applies even when the offence was committed outside the requesting state, if punishable under both jurisdictions.
• Scope of the Treaty:
  • Dual Criminality: The treaty covers persons accused or convicted of extraditable offences, typically those punishable with at least one year of imprisonment under the laws of both countries (principle of dual criminality).
  • Serious Crimes: It includes crimes such as terrorism, organized crime, murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, and economic offences.
  • Extended Liability: Extradition applies to attempts, aiding, abetting, incitement, conspiracy, or participation as an accomplice in the offence.
• Key Provisions:
  • No Extradition for Political Offences: Individuals cannot be extradited for offences deemed political in nature.
    • Exclusions: Serious offences such as murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, terrorism-related acts, bombings, use of firearms, and offences under multilateral treaties are explicitly excluded from the political offence category.
  • Protection Against Persecution: Extradition will be denied if the request appears to be made to persecute someone on grounds of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion.
  • Rule of Speciality: 
    • Limited Prosecution: The extradited person can be tried only for the offence for which extradition was granted.
    • Third-State Extradition: Re-extradition to a third state requires the consent of the original Requested State.
  • Evidence Requirement: Requests must include sufficient prima facie evidence and supporting documents.
  • Domestic Prosecution Option: The Requested State may refuse extradition when the accused can be prosecuted domestically for the same offence.
  • Grounds for Mandatory Refusal:
    • Trivial or Outdated Offences: Extradition must be refused when the offence is trivial, outdated due to passage of time, or not made in good faith.
    • Extradition is also barred for purely military offences or when the person is convicted with a sentence below one year.

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