Create special jails for fugitives, cancel passports after red notice: Amit Shah on criminals abroad

New Delhi: Advocating a “ruthless” approach against fugitives holed up abroad, Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday suggested that passports be cancelled at the issuance of a Red Corner Notice against a person, while insisting that the ‘trial in absentia’ provision in law be used more regularly.

He also suggested that special jails or cells that are in consonance with international standards be set up in all states for lodging fugitives so that they cannot use it to argue in foreign courts to prevent their deportation, even as he disagreed that Indian prisons do not conform to human rights conditions.

Addressing a conference on ‘Extradition of Fugitives – Challenges and Strategies’, he said there should be “zero tolerance” not only against corruption, crime and terrorism but also against those criminals who are operating from outside India.

“Whether they are economic offenders, cyber criminals, those involved in terrorist activities or part of organised crime networks, a ruthless approach must be adopted and a time-bound system be put in place against every fugitive to ensure they are brought before the Indian justice system,” he said.

Shah suggested that all states and agencies prepare a database of fugitives with details of their cases, network, whereabouts and other details besides a focus group in all states that deal with narco-criminals, gangsters, cyber-criminals, economic offenders and terror-linked people.

An expert special cell with knowledge on international law and specific expertise in dealing with cases of fugitives also need to be formed, he said.

Shah emphasised on the need for ‘trial in absentia’ of fugitives, saying court proceedings and convictions in cases would add to the efforts of agencies to get custody of people holed up in other countries. He said judicial actions would have an impact internationally.

Suggesting that there should be an in-built facility to red flag passports when a Red Corner Notice issued to a passport holder, he said passports could be seized and even cancelled if notices are issued against any person. “There is technology and it is not hard to implement it. We can prevent such people from flying out of India,” he said.

“No matter how swift tactics of crime and criminals, reach of justice must be swifter,” he said adding there is also a need to dismantle the belief the fugitives have that they are untouchable and the ecosystem, which includes political patronage, that supports them.

At the function, CBI Director Praveen Sood said the processing time on requests to Interpol to issue a Red Notice for detention of a fugitive has drastically come down, from an average of 14 months to three months now.

At present, he said, only eight proposals for issuing Interpol notices are pending, with the oldest one being a month old. Besides this, he said India has 338 extradition requests pending with various countries while 35 fugitives have been brought to India this year so far.