With the advent of globalisation, the extent of crime and its after effects are also increasing resulting into internationalisation of crime. One of such aspect is with respect of extradition of fugitives because criminals frequently cross borders in order to escape prosecution. As defined by Jurist Oppenheim extradition is a delivery of an accused or a convicted individual to the State on whose territory he is alleged to have committed or to have convicted of a crime, by the State on whose territory the alleged criminal happens to be for the time.[1]

Thus, the main issue is how to expedite the process of extradition of fugitives to India because justice delayed very often resulted in justice denied. In India, the extradition of fugitive to India from foreign country of vice- versa is covered by the provisions of Extradition Act, 1962. The Central Government has power to issue a notification extending the provisions of the Act to the countries notified.[2] So, the obligation to extradite is lines in conjunction to Act as well as the  specific treaties, arrangements, conventions entered into by India with various states.[3]

The next question comes up that what is an extradition offence. The act under section 2(c) states that “extradition offence” means

(i)              in relation to a foreign State, being a treaty State, an offence provided for in the extradition treaty with that State;

(ii)            in relation to a foreign State other than a treaty State an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year under the laws of India or of a foreign State and includes a composite offence.

In recent case of extradition of Vijay Mallya, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid has signed the order to extradite Mallya to India.[4] He was facing charges of fraud, money laundering and violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The extradition case was forwarded to Javid by the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 10 December 2018 after over a year of deliberations to consider whether or not Mallya should be sent back to India. India had made a formal extradition request to the UK government in February 2017 on the basis of a CBI charge sheet which accused him of fraud to secure loans for Kingfisher Airlines which were never paid back.

Henceforth, it becomes very important to understand that what can be the extradition options to be followed to expedite the process of bringing fugitives[5] back in India. However, in spite of having so much as black letter law on extradition, the process of extraditing fugitives is lengthy, complex and heavily depends on domestic law and politics of the states concerned. Although, extradition is a sovereign act, but India may adopt a targeted approach to make the process of extradition an expedient in its functioning. The options which can be helpful in regard to it are as follows:

i. The Indian government must conclude extradition treaties with as many countries as possible.

ii. The more and more efforts are to be made for bilateral negotiations between states to persuade countries to process requests expeditiously without the diplomatic influences.

iii.The principle of reciprocity and comity should be preferred by India in the process of extradition requests received from foreign states.

iv. The other mechanisms like MoUs and mutual treaties can also be used to facilitate arrest and extradition of offenders.

v. The recently enacted Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 as preventive law and policy measures will also deter the escape of offenders.

vi.The Indian should try to ratify UN Convention Against Torture (1984) to establish India’s zero tolerance towards torture and custodial violence to instil a sense of assurance among nations.

vii.The number of extradition cases such as those related to money laundering, terrorism and economic offences are generally taken by CBI in India resulting into over burdening on CBI.

viii.The Justice Malimath Committee way back in 2003 in its report recommended for setting up of a Central Agency in line with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (USA) to exercise jurisdiction over crimes and offences affecting national security.

ix.The synergised approach to be adopted between the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and law enforcement agencies.

x.Above all, the Indian Government should ensure proper prison conditions and prevent Human Rights violations of an individual. To say, the better conditions should be provided to surrendered offender rather than fugitives.

All these measures will surely act as watchdog to restraint the offenders to escape from India and will deter them from absconding.  Also, this will curtail the opportunities in the form of heavens available to fugitives abroad.

The states should understand that the extradition is a great step towards international cooperation in the suppression of crime which requires solidarity among nations to fight against crime. The Jurisprudence in the area of extradition law is evolving day by day and it is firmly hoped that the Indian Judiciary will take all cuddles to resolve the challenges posed to extradition.