NEW DELHI: Noting that agencies should adopt ruthless approach against economic offenders, cyber criminals, those involved in terror activities, and all other fugitives in bringing them before the Indian justice system, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday suggested the creation of a special prison for such absconding offenders in each state that meets international standards. He also suggested the cancellation of the passports of those facing Interpol red notices to blunt their claims of mistreatment upon extradition and stop their free movement across international borders.
Notably, several of the fugitives, including Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, have raised the issue of “poor conditions” of Indian prisons to counter their extradition in foreign courts.
Inaugurating a conference on ‘Extradition of Fugitives - Challenges and Strategies’ organised by the CBI, Shah said, “Till the time we create fear for the Indian legal system in the minds of fugitives, who are hurting the Indian economy, our sovereignty and our security from abroad, we cannot ensure security of the country.”
The Home Minister said, “I have some suggestions for actionable points for this conference. There should be a special jail that meets the international standards in every state for the fugitives whose extraditions are being sought. They (fugitives) often argue (in courts of countries they are hiding) that Indian prisons do not have international standards, which I don’t agree with but we should not take chances.” He also said, “The passports of fugitives should be revoked as soon as Interpol red notices are issued against them.”
Officials familiar with the process said revoking passports will make the fugitives stateless.
On the fugitives database, Shah said, “We should have a database which will have all the details about the person’s crime, his status in foreign country, his network, etc, and it should be shared with all states’ police. The states/UTs should have a special cell also, which will focus only on extradition requests.”
Shah further said, “We should have made use of sections 355 and 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which provide for ‘trial in absentia’ against the fugitives.” He went on to add that the issue of fugitives is linked to India’s national security and “till they fear our law, we won’t succeed”.
He said a zero-tolerance approach must be adopted not only against corruption, crime, and terrorism, but also against those criminals who are operating from outside India. Efforts must be made to bring all fugitives within the ambit of the law and to establish a definite mechanism for this, he added.
The Home Minister said that after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, the government has brought in several mechanisms, including enacting a law in 2018 - The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act -to empower the government to confiscate the properties of fugitives.
“Within almost four years, we have recovered approximately US$ two billion, which is a very significant achievement. We will have to maintain even more momentum in it going forward," Shah said, adding that the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has also been made stringent and properties worth approximately USD 12 billion have been seized between 2014 and 2023.
Speaking at the event, CBI director Praveen Sood said that India’s total 388 extradition requests are pending with various countries and till date, 957 Interpol red notices have been issued against various kinds of fugitives. He also said that the processing time for publishing Interpol red notices for fugitives based on India’s request has come from 14 months to just three months now due to Bharatpol.
