NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed a Madras High Court order allowing antique dealer Subhash Chandra Kapoor, who was convicted for his role in smuggling TN temple idols, to return to Germany. The court directed that the 76-year-old remain in custody and issued notice to him on a petition filed by the TN government.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi stayed the HC order on a petition filed by TN. The HC had held that the extradition of Kapoor to India was conditional and for a limited period, and his continued detention violated treaty obligations and rule of specialty.
Challenging the order, the state’s Idol Wing submitted that Kapoor, who operated the Manhattan-based Art of the Past gallery, was a kingpin of an international smuggling racket responsible for looting temples in Tamil Nadu over several decades.
Kapoor was arrested in Germany in 2011 following an Interpol red notice and extradited to India in 2012. He has remained in custody in Tamil Nadu since then.
The state argued that the HC had failed to consider the union government’s plea seeking an extension of the extradition period. It also submitted that Germany had not objected to the continuation of the trial. His repatriation, the state contended, would hamper proceedings in multiple cases and efforts to recover stolen idols from museums in the US.
The Supreme Court observed that the matter raised important questions relating to extradition law and the protection of antiquities. It posted the matter for hearing after four weeks.
Four more smuggling cases pending against Kapoor in TN
Kapoor was convicted in November 2022 by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Kumbakonam for his role in the theft and illegal export of 19 antique idols from the Sri Varadaraja Perumal temple at Suthamalli in Ariyalur district. The case was registered by the Udayarpalayam police.
The idols, stolen during a burglary in 2008, were valued at over `94 crore and were allegedly exported to Kapoor’s New York gallery. He was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in the case, though some reports have cited an aggregate sentence of 13 years.
Four other idol-smuggling cases registered by the Vikramangalam, Veeravanallur, Paluvoor and Virudhachalam police are also pending against him.
