The interim government led by Mohammad Yunus in Bangladesh has once again sent a formal letter to India asking that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina be handed over to Dhaka. Bangladesh High Commission based in Delhi has sent this diplomatic note to the Ministry of External Affairs of India.

This request has come at a time when on 17 November 2025, a special court in Dhaka has sentenced Sheikh Hasina to death after finding her guilty of serious crimes against humanity. This is the first official letter after the decision, in which Bangladesh has demanded India to send him back.

Left Dhaka and reached India
Last year in August 2024, Hasina’s government fell due to large-scale violence, political turmoil and protests in Bangladesh. During that time, she left Dhaka and reached India and has been living in India since then. Bangladesh is now arguing that not sending them back even after so long is an obstruction in the judicial process. Meanwhile, she has been living in India for about 15 months.

Bangladesh government claims
Bangladesh government is saying in its letter that the extradition treaty is in force between India and Bangladesh. On this basis, India should be handed over to Sheikh Hasina. Dhaka says that giving shelter in any other country to people found guilty of serious charges is against the justice system. Even before this, Bangladesh had sent a letter to India on the same issue, but no official response was received from India.

India’s reaction is still not clear
The Government of India has not made any comment this time also. Last year, even when Hasina had come to India, India had not given any formal response to Dhaka’s request. Experts believe that this matter is not only legal, but also political and strategic, because it can have a wide-ranging impact on India-Bangladesh relations.

Dhaka court’s decision
In its November 17 verdict, the special court in Dhaka had convicted Sheikh Hasina and her former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan in several serious cases. The court said that both were found to have a direct role in the illegal arrest of opposition leaders, their torture and crimes against humanity. Hasina and her party have been calling these allegations completely politically motivated.

On what basis will India take the final decision?
Legal experts believe that India will take any decision on this issue only when it is confident that his trial has been conducted in a fair manner in Bangladesh. If there are any suspicions like political retaliation or human rights violation in the case, India will not give consent to extradition, hence this matter is currently in a sensitive situation on both diplomatic and legal fronts.

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Big news has come out from Bangladesh where the Bangladesh court has sentenced former PM Sheikh Hasina to death on two charges, after which the same discussion is taking place everywhere that can now Bangladesh Army or Police forcefully arrest Sheikh Hasina from India? Let us tell you what are the rules for this and how will be the further process. Before that, know that on Monday, the International Crimes Tribunal of Dhaka found Sheikh Hasina guilty of crimes against humanity and called her the mastermind of the murders during the student movement in 2024.

Can Bangladesh Police or Army arrest Sheikh Hasina?

Now the question arises whether Bangladesh police or army will arrest him from India? For this, first of all you have to understand the India-Bangladesh Extradition Treaty. In 2013, India and Bangladesh implemented an extradition treaty to exchange criminals to combat extremism and terrorism on their common borders. But in 2016, this treaty was amended to make the extradition process even easier. This treaty provides for the extradition of people who have been convicted of charges punishable with a sentence of at least one year.

Can Hasina avoid going to Bangladesh under Article 7?

Under the India-Bangladesh extradition treaty, India can also refuse to hand over Sheikh Hasina under Article 7 of the treaty. But there is a condition for this. In fact, both countries can refuse to each other against extraditing a person against whom a case is already pending in some other case in the country in which he has taken refuge. For example, if any criminal case was going on against Sheikh Hasina in India, India could have refused to extradite Sheikh Hasina, but this is not the case in her case.

India can refuse extradition but…

India may refuse to hand over Sheikh Hasina under Article 8 of the Bangladesh extradition treaty. A section of the treaty (Article 8) says that India can refuse extradition if the case is not made in “good faith in the interest of justice”. Meaning, if India believes that Bangladesh’s allegation is “political in nature”, then the government can refuse extradition. However, some crimes (such as murder, disappearance) do not fall within the definition of “political crimes” in the treaty, so this argument cannot fully apply to all the cases against Sheikh Hasina.

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