New Delhi: Indian nationals who sneak into the country after committing crime abroad now won't go unpunished as CBI has got new powers to prosecute such offenders according to Indian laws.
The central government has now empowered the agency to investigate and prosecute offenders who commit crimes abroad and come back to India for refuge.
In a number of cases, fugitives live a normal life in India as they could not be sent to the country where crime has been committed to face trial because of extradition treaties limitations, CBI sources said.
They could also not be tried in India as the crime has been committed outside the jurisdiction of Indian agencies, they said.
India has extradition treaties with 39 countries of which 21 bar extradition of their own nationals to the countries where the crime has been committed.
"We do not extradite Indian nationals to countries like Bulgaria, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Portugal, Vietnam etc for being tried there because of extradition conditions with these countries," an official said, adding that arrangement is mutual.
Most of these cases relate to offences related to financial frauds, homicide, theft, criminal breach of trust in which Indian nationals have come back here after committing crime there, the sources said.
It is a concern of these countries that the crimes committed on their soil should not go unpunished which they keep on raising at different diplomatic platforms, they said.
The sources said the only condition for such prosecution is that the offence for which they have been charged with should be cognisable offence in India too.
"The central government has empowered and extended the jurisdiction of members of Delhi Special Police Establishment (CBI) under Section 5 of the DSPE Act to investigate and prosecute the offences as described under Section four of IPC i.E the offences committed outside territorial jurisdiction of India referred by the central government from time to time," an official told PTI.
CBI is also designated as nodal authority to deal with and obtain sanction for prosecution from Home Ministry under
section 188 of CrPC.
The agency in its capacity as National Central Bureau of Interpol is notified as designated agency for prosecution
under CrPC for extraterritorial offences and fugitives may be tried in special CBI courts, a recent central government order said.
"NCB India by virtue of its experience and expertise in dealing with fugitive tracking and the matters of extradition is best placed to coordinate requests from foreign governments obtained through diplomatic channels for local prosecution of Indian nationals who have committed offences in foreign land," the order said.
Extradition is subject of Union List as per Constitution besides entry 14 includes entering into treaties with foreign governments and implementing treaties and conventions with foreign governments.
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