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India: Examining Bangladesh’s request to extradite Sheikh Hasina

The development has the potential to impact bilateral ties – already under strain since Hasina's arrival on August 5 -- and will need some deft diplomacy.

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Nov 27, 2025 08:57 AM IST

Sheikh Hasina, extradition, India, Bangladesh, MEA,

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We will continue to engage constructively in this regard with all the stakeholders." (File photo)

INDIA ON Wednesday confirmed that Bangladesh has sent a request for extradition of ousted Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina. This is the second time that Dhaka has sent the extradition request.

The Ministry of External Affairs’ official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Yes we have received a request. The request is being examined as part of ongoing judicial and internal legal processes.”

“We remain committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including peace, democracy, inclusion and stability in that country and will continue to engage constructively in this regard with all stakeholders,” he said.

In December last year, about four months after Hasina fled to India following massive protests that brought down her 16-year-old regime, Dhaka had sent a diplomatic note asking New Delhi to send her back.

Also Read | The difference between Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Hasina: One said sorry and rose from the ashes

The development has the potential to impact bilateral ties – already under strain since Hasina’s arrival on August 5 — and will need some deft diplomacy.

VIDEO | Speaking on Bangladesh’s request to India for the extradition of former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Haseena, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) said, “Yes, we have received that request, and the request is being examined… We remain committed to the people of… pic.twitter.com/cz5i8Epo4c

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 26, 2025

“We have sent a note verbale (diplomatic message) to the Indian government saying that Bangladesh wants her back here for the judicial process,” Touhid Hossain, Foreign Affairs Advisor in Bangladesh’s interim government, had said last Friday.

Explained

Provisions in treaty

India has not yet rejected the extradition request, but there are provisions within the extradition treaty that allows for denying her extradition on the grounds of it being a political in nature. Also, Delhi can question the due process of the trial.

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Dhaka had convicted Hasina and sentenced her to death penalty last week for “crimes against humanity and genocide”.

Hasina’s presence in India and her public statements have strained India-Bangladesh ties over the past one year and four months. Bangladesh interim government’s Chief Advisor Prof Muhammad Yunus had flagged this concern during his meeting with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in Dhaka on December 9 last year as well.

Shubhajit Roy

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

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