India To Hand over Seikh Hasina To Bangladesh?

• By Thetripurapost Desk, Delhi
• Aug 21, 2024
• 650

Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken refuge in India. Meanwhile, a pile of cases has been filed against her in Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina has been charged with everything from murder, conspiracy to murder to genocide.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh's main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has demanded the extradition of Sheikh Hasina from India. BNP General Secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has demanded the extradition of Sheikh Hasina, accusing her of plotting to disrupt protests against the government in the country.

This is not the official stand of the caretaker government of Bangladesh led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. But, after Sheikh Hasina's Awami League withdrew from the field, BNP is now the main political party left in Bangladesh. There are also allegations in hushed tones that BNP is running Muhammad Yunus's interim government behind the scenes. In such a situation, it is being speculated that Yunus is also under pressure to request the extradition of Sheikh Hasina.

India and Bangladesh have an extradition treaty. Under this treaty, both countries extradite the accused present in each other's country. In such a situation, the question arises whether India has the right to reject Bangladesh's official request. This question is also important because Hasina has been a loyal friend of India during her long tenure as Prime Minister in Bangladesh. Her friendly attitude towards India is of strategic importance to New Delhi. In such a situation, it will not be easy to hand over Hasina to Bangladesh, because her life may also be in danger there.

The extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India was signed in an attempt to end insurgency in the Northeast. For decades, insurgent leaders active in the Northeast and West Bengal used to cross the India-Bangladesh border to escape the law. The treaty was first signed in 2013 and amended in 2016. The treaty has benefited India and Bangladesh, which face challenges from terror groups like Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Terrorists belonging to this group were found hiding in West Bengal and Assam.

It was through this treaty that India was able to extradite top United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) leader Anup Chetia from Bangladesh in 2015. India has also extradited some Bangladeshi fugitives through this treaty.

The treaty lists the conditions and offences for extradition. It states that India and Bangladesh should extradite fugitives “against whom proceedings have been initiated” or “who have been charged or convicted, or are wanted for an offence”. However, only offences punishable with a minimum one year imprisonment can be extraditable offences, including those related to financial irregularities.

An important aspect in the operation of the India-Bangladesh Extradition Treaty is that the principle of dual criminality must be met for an offence to be extradited. This means that the offence must be punishable in both countries. Article 7 of the Treaty deals with what is an extraditable offence and how the authorities of the two countries will respond to an extradition request.

However, the India-Bangladesh extradition treaty cannot be invoked in cases that are “political in nature”. Article 6 of the treaty contains a list of political crimes as an exception. Other exceptions are mentioned in Article 8 of the treaty – which allows both India and Bangladesh to reject requests under certain circumstances. An extradition request can be rejected if it is “not made in good faith” and is not “in the interest of justice”.

Article 8 states that an extradition request may be refused if the person concerned can satisfy the requested country that
“the offence of which he is charged or convicted is trivial in nature,” or
“he is alleged to have committed or has fled illegally,” or
“the charges against him are not brought in good faith in the interests of justice,” or
“the offence of which he is charged or convicted is a military offence which is not a crime under the ordinary criminal law.”

Also, an extradition request may be rejected if the individual is facing a criminal case or has been convicted of a crime in the requested country.

The charges against Hasina in Bangladesh police and court files include murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, assault, causing an explosion, making or possessing explosive substances or weapons with intent to endanger life of any person; using weapons with intent to resist or prevent arrest; causing damage to property with intent to endanger life; kidnapping or hostage-taking; incitement to murder; and terrorism-related offences.

These crimes do not fall under the exceptions for crimes of a political nature. Therefore, despite being a political figure, Hasina’s case cannot fall under this exception. Also, these are neither minor allegations nor has enough time passed for Article 8 to be applied. However, the same article also talks about the provision to reject the extradition request on the grounds that the allegations against Hasina are “in good faith” and not “in the interest of justice”