LONDON: India and Britain on Sept.22, signed a historic extradiontcaly and an agreement on confiscation of extremists’ assets heralding a new era of bilateral co-operation against terrorism and drug trafficking.

The new legal regime will ensure that the United Kingdom no longer shelters anti-India extremists operating from the British territory and that the British-based patrons of Indian militant groups are disallowed to operate with impunity.

The treaty replaces the ineffective fugitive offenders Act, hitherto governing extradition arrangements between Commonwealth countries,

The Home Minister S.B.Chavan and the British Home Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, who signed the twin agreements at a ceremony at the British Home Office here, voiced satisfaction at the conclusion of the major agreements, The treaty is significant as it obliterates the political factor from crimes of violence as a defence against extradition.

The extradition treaty, more or less similar to the existing Indo Canadian extradition treaty, is the first between Britain and another commonwealth country.

It ensures a greater readiness to consider extradition which would also depend on strong evidence collected by the country asking for extradition,

The agreement on confiscation of militants and drug-runner’s assets is the first of its kind in the world, where two countries act together on the subject and India is the first country with which Britain has signed such an agreement. :

This provides forfeiture of funds and assets of any individual or organization involved in militancy or drug-trafficking in one country. The assets of the guilty would be confiscated not only in that country, but also in the other country.

The measure also provides for order of the courts in one country to be executable in the other country. Under the authority of this agreement and terrorism act, searches and seizures could also be made at the premises of suspect individuals and organizations,

The Indian cabinet has already approved the treaty and the British government plans to seek parliamentary approval in the coming session of the House of Commons, Following are the salient features of the extradition treaty and the agreement on confiscation of militants assets signed by the Home Minister, S.B.Chavan and the British Home Secretary Kenneth Clarke here.

(1) The treaty provides for extradition of the following categories of fugitive offenders who commit crimes punishable with a minimum of one year imprisonment.

(a)Indians in UK who attempt, conspire or commit offences against India could be extradited.

(b) even nationals of UK or other countries if they attempt, conspire or commit offences against India while they were residing in India and if they are found in UK could be extradited.

(c) Indian national residing in foreign countries other than UK committing offences against India could also be extradited, if they are found in UK.

(d) Even if only part of the crime against India is committed or attempted in UK; the offenders could be extradited to India, if the predominant effect of the crime, as determined by UK law is upon India.

(c) In case UK is unable to extradite because of specific reasons, UK will have a duty to prosecute the offenders.

(f) The treaty provides a list of serious offences in respect of which the offenders would not be in a position to plead defence saying that the office was of a political character. Some of these are hijacking of aircrafts, kidnapping, hostage-taking, murder, damage to property, possession of explosives, firearms.

(g) The treaty gives extra territorial jurisdiction to courts of UK and India for certain offences committed against each other country.

(h) Extradition can be sought retrospectively even in respect of crimes committed before the signing of the treaty.

(i) In urgent cases, a fugitive offender can be provisionally arrested and detained for a maximum of 60 days until the receipt of a formal extradition request.

The anti-extradition campaigners believe the treaty violates human rights as it increases chances of extradition occurring on “trumped up charges” against alleged political offenders.

The real fear and the truth of the situation will be that the Indian government will attempt to arrange for the extradition of a person who had committed offences of a purely political nature or who had committed no offence in the U.K but was wanted by India for political considerations.

The lobby fears that elements campaigning against India in the U.K would become “a trade.”

Article extracted from this publication >> October 2, 1992