International Arrest Warrant By Itself Not Sufficient To Extradite A Person To UAE Unless There Is A Written Request: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that International Arrest Warrant issued by itself will not suffice to arrest an accused and extradite him to UAE.

Nationals of Contracting States shall not be extradited unless there is a request made by the State concerned, Justice N. Nagaresh observed.

One Sreejith Vijayan is accused in a criminal case in Dubai which resulted in issuance of International Arrest Warrant against him. The complainant in the criminal case then approached the High Court alleging that Indian authorities are not acting upon this warrant.

The court noted the Article 5 of the Extradition Treaty between India and UAE which reads as follows "The nationals of the Contracting States shall not be extradited to the other Contracting State provided that the requested State shall submit the case to its competent authorities for prosecution if the act committed is considered as an offence under the laws of both Contracting States."

The Centre submitted that no such request has been received from the Government of UAE seeking extradition. According to it, for getting the fugitive extradited, the Government of UAE has to send a formal request to the Government of India through diplomatic channels, strictly as per the provisions of the Treaty and the Central Government will decide whether to extradite the subject or to submit the case to the competent authorities for local prosecution under Section 188 Cr.P.C While dismissing the writ petition, the court observed: 

Article 8 of Ext.P3 Extradition Treaty would show that the request for extradition shall be made in writing and dispatched through the diplomatic channels with supporting documents and particulars. The warrant of arrest is only one of the documents made mention in Article 8 of the Extradition Treaty. In view of the specific provisions contained in the Extradition Treaty between the Government of Republic of India and the United Arab Emirates, an International Arrest Warrant by itself will not suffice to arrest an accused and extradite him to UAE. For extradition, definitely there should be a request for extradition in writing which should be dispatched through diplomatic channels. In the absence of such a request in terms of Article 5 of the Extradition Treaty, Ext.P2 International Arrest Warrant issued by the Government of Dubai would not be sufficient to apprehend the 8th respondent and extradite him to UAE.

Case: RAKHUL KRISHNAN vs. UNION OF INDIA [ WP(C) No.13875/2020 ]
Coram: Justice N. Nagaresh
Counsel: ADV .T.K.VIPINDAS, ASGI P.VIJAYAKUMAR

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