No deadline for extradition
India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi said New Delhi cannot provide a specific timeline for Sheikh Hasina’s extradition to Bangladesh because the request is still under legal review by Indian legal authorities. Trivedi told the Bay of Bengal Conversation 2026 in Dhaka that India is processing Dhaka’s formal extradition request through established judicial and diplomatic channels, and he said executive action must adhere strictly to statutory procedures. Trivedi said Hasina arrived in India after her sudden departure from Dhaka in August 2024, and he stressed that “Hasina was not brought to India by the Indian air force or army.”
“Nobody can give you a time frame [for the extradition].”
Trivedi also said the extradition mechanics between the two neighbours fall under the bilateral Extradition Treaty signed in 2013 and subsequently amended in 2016, with exception clauses regarding political offences and cases evaluated by domestic judicial bodies. Trivedi framed the ongoing legal review as a reason that “Nobody can give you a time frame (over Hasina’s return),” while India maintained that the process is legal and well structured.
Arrival and “hardly any choice”
Trivedi said India “hardly had any choice other than accepting her as she was still Bangladesh’s PM,” after Hasina’s government fell in August 2024. Trivedi said Hasina arrived on a Bangladeshi military aircraft, and he added that “Hasina was not brought to India by the Indian air force or army.” Trivedi described the situation as unfolding because of “tragic circumstances” in Bangladesh, and he said India’s authorities were “not prepared for the situation.”
Trivedi told the panel that “At that point in time, Hasina was still the prime minister of Bangladesh,” and he said it was “our duty as a neighbour to accept the reality of life.” Trivedi said the legal process on extradition is ongoing, and he insisted that “Again and again, the government of India has replied to this that there is a process, and the process is legal, and it is well structured.”
What is at stake next
India’s position kept the extradition issue at the centre of strained India-Bangladesh ties, as Trivedi said the courts are involved and “nobody can give you a time frame.” Trivedi linked the extradition dispute to broader bilateral engagement, and he said “Every issue between the two neighbours has a solution,” while he urged continuous dialogue on matters including water, trade, culture, sports, communication and transportation. Trivedi also said India’s relationship with Bangladesh “doesn’t depend on what relation Bangladesh has with other countries,” and he added that “Nobody should tell Bangladesh what they should do.”
The Hindu reported that Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal handed death sentences to Sheikh Hasina and her Home Minister Asaduzaman Khan Kamal in November 2025, and it said a panel under the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights placed fatalities at about 1,400. Trivedi said the legal process is “in place,” and he warned that “Nobody can give you a time frame [for the extradition],” even as Bangladesh’s incumbent government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman continued to demand Hasina’s return to face justice.
Source: newscord.org
