Why is India not paying attention to Dhaka’s request to extradite Hasina?

Last Updated on December 30, 2024 7:48 am

It was somehow known that a ‘request’ or ‘demand’ for the extradition of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh would come. Finally, it came exactly four months and 18 days after Sheikh Hasina set foot in India!

On the morning of December 23, the message was handed over in the form of a ‘note verbale’ by the Bangladesh Embassy in Chanakyapuri, Delhi, to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in South Block.

For some time now, the advisors or policymakers of the Bangladesh interim government have been saying, in a hinted form or openly, that they would ask India to return Sheikh Hasina. So that she can be brought to justice for ‘genocide’.

But for whatever reason, that message or letter was not officially sent to Delhi. When it finally came, it came in the form of a note verbale.

Note Verbal is a type of ‘diplomatic communication’ between the governments of the two countries. However, it does not have a signature of the sender.

According to the tradition of Note Verbal, it can be assumed that in this case too, the message was sent on the letterhead of the Bangladesh Embassy in Delhi and had the rubber stamp of the High Commission.

Within a few hours of receiving the message, Delhi publicly acknowledged its receipt. However, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also said that they have nothing to say about it right now!

A few more days have passed since then. Just as there has been no response from Delhi, India has not sent any reply to Bangladesh to the Note Verbal.

In fact, several important sources in the Indian government have hinted to BBC Bangla in Delhi that they are not taking this request very seriously at all.

Indian officials do not even think that the Bangladesh government has made the request with much seriousness.

Even then, this message will definitely be responded to. But there are indications that Delhi will not be in any hurry for that.

Why is the Indian government taking such an attitude towards the note verbale? This report has explored the reasons by talking to officials and analysts.

‘Where is the evidence?’

Although the interim government of Bangladesh claims that they are giving top priority to efforts to return Sheikh Hasina. However, India considers sending their message to be nothing more than a ‘responsible step’!

A top government official in Delhi told the BBC, ‘If Bangladesh were really serious about this matter, they would have presented the specific allegations against Sheikh Hasina and the evidence against her. I mean, like in a charge sheet!’

‘It goes without saying that it cannot be in a one-two-page note!’

That is, the Bangladesh government is actually trying to show the people of their country that they have requested extradition from India and as a result, ‘Now the ball is in India’s court – we have nothing more to do now!’

In the words of a former Indian diplomat, ‘I feel like Bangladesh has ticked a box and fulfilled its responsibility with this step – we were supposed to request extradition, we told them, and that’s it!’

But Bangladesh may not have made every effort because India is unlikely to hand over Sheikh Hasina for trial. He also thinks so.

Whatever the real reason, India does not actually consider the argument used in the note verbale to demand Sheikh Hasina’s return (that she should be brought to trial for the July-August genocide) to be a strong demand!

“The reason is that making this allegation without any evidence means that the nature of this message is completely political.”

The Indian official said, “Now the extradition treaty between the two countries clearly states that no person accused of political charges can be extradited. Therefore, the same logic will certainly apply in the case of Sheikh Hasina.”

‘Even if a letter rogatory was given, it would have been better!’

If India has an extradition treaty or a special arrangement with a country, India can hand over a citizen of that country to them – if he is a ‘fugitive criminal’ or FC or fugitive convict.

Now, under what conditions can India hand over an ‘FC’ to his own country, its rules and regulations are very clear and are fully mentioned on the website of the Ministry of External Affairs.

These rules depend to some extent on the special clause of the extradition treaty with that particular country.

However, the main clause is the same for all countries. And that is – the person being sought back must be a fugitive convict in a case of an ‘extraditable crime’.

Now, when Sheikh Hasina came to India, she was not a fugitive convict or FC.

Pinakaranjan Chakraborty, a former top Indian diplomat, told BBC Bangla, “It should be remembered that on August 5, there was no case against Sheikh Hasina in that country. Therefore, when India is hosting her, she is not a fugitive at that moment.”

Pinakaranjan further argued, “Now that hundreds of cases are being filed against Sheikh Hasina across the country after she leaves the country, there may be sufficient reason to believe that these are politically vendettas – on the basis of which no question of extradition arises.”

So can it be assumed that India will not return Sheikh Hasina under any circumstances, no matter what form the request takes or how strong the evidence is presented?

In response, Pinakaranjan Chakraborty says, “No, that is not the case. If this request is made to India in accordance with all the rules and with strict guidelines, then India will definitely consider it.”

The former Indian High Commissioner believes that a ‘letter rogatory’ would have been much more effective than a note verbale in this case.

The Latin word ‘rogatorius’ means – asking for information. And ‘letter rogatory’ is when a court of one country sends a letter to a court of another country seeking legal assistance in a matter.

It can be evidence against an accused, or it can be a request to help in the legal process.

So in this case, if the Bangladeshi court or the International Criminal Tribunal had sent a letter (letter rogatory) to the Indian judiciary (Supreme Court) seeking assistance in the trial of Sheikh Hasina, its impact would have been much greater than this ‘responsible’ note verbale, some Indian observers believe.

However, before sending such a letter, sufficient progress should also be made in the relevant trial process. Delhi also doubts whether this has happened in Bangladesh in the case of Sheikh Hasina.

‘Ask your own army first’

Some analysts believe that the main reason why India has not taken much notice of Sheikh Hasina’s extradition request is the question of the role of the Bangladesh army behind her leaving the country.

They say that it is no longer a secret that Sheikh Hasina was able to leave the country safely with the ‘covert support’ of the Bangladesh army, or that she received a ‘safe passage’.

Shubhrakmal Dutta, a foreign policy expert close to India’s ruling BJP, told the BBC, ‘Before asking India to return Sheikh Hasina, I would say that Dr. Yunus’ government should ask its own army for accountability. Why did they let Sheikh Hasina go to India?

In fact, Sheikh Hasina landed at the Hindon airbase near Delhi on August 5 in a military aircraft of the Bangladesh army.

The next day, on August 6, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar told Parliament that the Bangladesh Army had also sought advance permission or ‘flight clearance’ from India for the plane carrying Sheikh Hasina to land in Delhi.

There has been no change in the leadership of the Bangladesh Army since that incident. At that time, General Waqar Uz Zaman was still the head of the force, and he is still the army chief.

Shubhrakmal Dutta said, ‘As a result, in whatever situation Sheikh Hasina came to India, the current army leadership of Bangladesh must have had an active role behind it. Which is difficult to deny.’

In his words, ‘Sheikh Hasina may actually be our guest now, but we must also remember this – we did not invite her on our own.’

In fact, Indian government officials have reminded us several times before that Sheikh Hasina came to India with the help of the Bangladesh Army. But India did not send a plane to ‘evacuate’ her or pick her up.

As a result, India believes that the events of August 5 are weakening the request for Sheikh Hasina’s extradition today.

A senior official in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs told the BBC that, “An important pillar of the state (the army) helped her come to India. And now another pillar of the state (the executive branch) is asking for her return from India. So there is a contradiction in this.”

For these reasons, India does not think that Bangladesh should respond quickly to the note verbale or take a quick decision on Sheikh Hasina’s extradition!

(Based on the writing of BBC Bangla journalist Shubhjyoti Ghosh)