India-Bangladesh Relations: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had to step down after a student-led uprising against her government. Since then, she has left the country and has been in India for about three weeks. In such a situation, there is speculation about her next step, but the possibility of her staying in India has diminished due to the cancellation of Hasina’s diplomatic passport by the interim government of Bangladesh.
According to a Hindustan Times report, the Security Services Division of the country’s Home Ministry announced that the diplomatic passports of Sheikh Hasina, her advisors, former cabinet members and all members of the recently dissolved 12th Jatiya Sangsad and their spouses will be cancelled with immediate effect. The provision of cancellation of these passports will also apply to diplomatic officials whose tenure has ended and ordinary passports are likely to be issued only after the approval of at least two investigating agencies.
Is Sheikh Hasina facing the threat of extradition?
Sheikh Hasina no longer has any passport other than her now-cancelled diplomatic passport, the Daily Star newspaper reported, citing government sources. Under the Indian visa policy, Bangladeshi citizens holding diplomatic or official passports are eligible for visa-free entry and can stay in the country for up to 45 days. As of Saturday, Hasina has spent 20 days in India and her legal stay is about to expire.
The cancellation of Sheikh Hasina’s diplomatic passport and related visa privileges could put her at risk of being extradited to Bangladesh, where 51 cases are registered against her. Of these, 42 cases are of murder.
What does the India-Bangladesh extradition treaty say
Hasina’s extradition will fall under the legal framework of the 2013 Extradition Treaty between Bangladesh and India, which was amended in 2016. While the treaty allows extradition to be denied in case of charges of a political nature, it explicitly excludes crimes such as murder from being considered political.
However, according to a report by state news agency BSS, one of the grounds for refusing extradition is that the charges are not brought “in good faith, in the interests of justice”.