‘Extradition Treaty’ with Bangladesh has increased India’s troubles, will Sheikh Hasina ‘return home’?

Sheikh Hasina News: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina may be sent back to her country. There are strong discussions about this. The reason for this is that many criminal cases are going on against her in Bangladesh. In such a situation, the interim government of Bangladesh can demand her extradition from India to take legal action against Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh’s main opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has also demanded the extradition of Sheikh Hasina. This can also increase India’s tension.

On the other hand, in an interview to Reuters, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Tauheed Hussain said that many cases are registered against Hasina. She will have to return to the country so that legal action can be taken. At present, there is an interim government in the country and the role of BNP is important in it. It can demand the extradition of Sheikh Hasina by putting pressure on the government led by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. In such a situation, let us know what is the extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh and can Hasina be sent to her country?

Why is there a need for an extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh?

An extradition treaty was signed between India and its neighbouring country Bangladesh in 2013. Changes were made in it in 2016 so that fugitives could be extradited quickly and easily. Both countries needed this treaty because militants active in Northeast India were hiding in Bangladesh and operating from there. Similarly, operatives of Bangladesh’s ‘Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh’ (JMB) were also hiding in West Bengal and Assam. Many fugitives have been extradited through this treaty.

What does the extradition treaty say?

It is clearly written in the treaty that if the extradition of a person is requested because a case is going on in the court of the country demanding his extradition, then he will have to be extradited. India-Bangladesh will have to extradite any person even in the situation when he has been found guilty or is an accused or is declared wanted. It is said in the treaty that if the punishment for any crime is at least one year, then the person committing this crime will also have to be extradited.

Financial crimes are also included in this. Similarly, the condition of extradition for any crime will also apply to those cases in which the punishment for a crime is given in both the countries. The treaty states that if a person helps a criminal, instigates him or becomes his accomplice, then in such a case also he can be extradited. In this way, the extradition treaty talks about extradition from the smallest crimes to the biggest crimes.

In what cases extradition is not possible?

If a crime is ‘linked to politics’, then extradition can be denied in such a case. But there is a limit to such a crime. This rule has been made so that extradition is not done with the intention of implicating a politician. However, the treaty also mentions those crimes which cannot be considered ‘linked to politics’.

These include murder, massacre, assault, bomb blasts, possession of arms to endanger the lives of people, firing a gun to evade arrest, causing damage to property to endanger the lives of people, kidnapping people, incitement to murder and all crimes related to terrorism.

Can Sheikh Hasina be extradited?

This is the biggest question right now. Sheikh Hasina can seek political asylum in India if she wants. But some such cases have been registered against her, on the basis of which she can be sent to Bangladesh. These include murder, forced disappearance and torture. However, now the matter also becomes complicated because in 2016, Article 10 (3) of the treaty was amended.

Through this change, the condition of showing evidence to prove the crime of the person to be extradited was removed. This means that even if only an arrest warrant is shown by a court, the extradition will have to be approved. In such a situation, if the extradition of Sheikh Hasina is demanded on the basis of a court warrant, then India’s problems may increase.

Can India reject the extradition demand?

If Bangladesh demands the extradition of Sheikh Hasina, then India can refuse it on the basis of the rules mentioned in the treaty. Article 8 of the treaty lists several reasons for refusing extradition. It also includes things which say that if the charges leveled for extradition are not intended to bring justice, then extradition can be refused.

Similarly, extradition can be denied in case of military crimes as they are not crimes under normal criminal law. India has the right to reject the demand for extradition of Sheikh Hasina on the basis of these things. But if India does so, then relations with Bangladesh can also deteriorate.

Also read: Attacks on Hindus are not stopping in Bangladesh, now Dhaka College’s Hinda hostel has been targeted