Can Fugitives on an Interpol Warrant Be Arrested Without a Formal Extradition Request? Kerala HC Explains
Case Title: RAKHUL KRISHNAN vs UNION OF INDIA
Case No.: W.A.NO.350 OF 2021
Coram: Dr. A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Preetha A.K
Court Observation
“Under both the provisions referred above, the information regarding the fugitive criminal, must be one that is obtained from the foreign State through a recognized channel such as the Interpol, and the provisions only mandate that a request for arrest of the fugitive criminal, be routed through a jurisdictional Magistrate for the purposes of issuance of a warrant of arrest that will authorize the arrest in accordance with the laws of India.”
“The Nodal Agency can simultaneously alert the Ministry of External Affairs and also bring the same information to the jurisdictional Magistrate under Section 9 given the risk of the fugitive absconding while the Central Government’s channel is being worked through. Nothing in the Extradition Act requires the Nodal Agency to elect the one over the other for they operate as independent legal bases for the arrest of the fugitive. That apart, the three months sunset clause under Section 9 is effectively the bridge between the two courses of action since, even when the procedure under Section 9 is invoked first, the substantive extradition process still has to be regularized through the Central Government within three months via a Section 5 order, for otherwise, the detention lapses.”
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