Court orders gangster Kumar Pillai’s return to Hong Kong

Recording that extradition had been permitted only in those three cases — all of which have ended in acquittal — the court made it clear that the legal basis for his continued presence in India no longer survives. The court has given the police a month to start the necessary steps to repatriate Pillai

MUMBAI: A special MCOCA court has directed the Mumbai police to take steps to repatriate alleged gangster Kumar Krishnan Pillai to Hong Kong, holding that India cannot continue to detain or prosecute him in matters beyond the three cases for which extradition was specifically granted.

Mumbai, April 10, 2016 : A team from the Mumbai crime branch recently returned from Singapore after submitting documents to prove the identity of fugitive gangster Kumar Krishna Pillai alias Kumar Pillai, whose extradition process is underway in Singapore.

The cases relate to alleged extortion from builders in Vikhroli, and shooting incidents at developers’ office premises.

Recording that extradition had been permitted only in those three cases — all of which have ended in acquittal — the court made it clear that the legal basis for his continued presence in India no longer survives. The court has given the police a month to start the necessary steps to repatriate Pillai.

In the absence of any move to secure consent from the extraditing country for additional prosecutions, the court held that “the applicant cannot be put to trial for any other offence unless such permission is obtained”. Special Judge Satyanarayan R Navander added that the prosecution was “left with no option but to take steps to repatriate the applicant to his home country, namely Hong Kong”.

Pillai, an engineer by profession and once a resident of Vikhroli east, later acquired citizenship of Hong Kong. He was arrested in Singapore in January 2016 after a Red Corner Notice was issued for him. Pillai had already acquired Hong Kong citizenship by then. Extradition was sought in six cases, but the Singapore court permitted extradition to try him in only three. He was subsequently brought to India to face trial in cases registered between 2009 and 2013.

In allowing Pillai’s repatriation plea, Judge Navander relied on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Daya Singh Lahoria vs Union of India (2001), reiterating the “rule of speciality” in extradition law — that a fugitive surrendered to India “can be tried only for the offences mentioned in the extradition decree and for no other offence, unless he has been restored to or has had an opportunity to return to the State which surrendered him”.

The state opposed Pillai’s plea, citing other pending criminal cases and non-bailable warrants. However, the court held that without obtaining consent from the extraditing jurisdiction, Pillai could not legally be prosecuted in those matters. Consequently, it directed the commissioner of police, Mumbai, to “take necessary steps for repatriation” and submit a compliance report within one month.

The order effectively brings to a close Pillai’s nine-year post-extradition stay in India. With all three designated trials ending in acquittal and no further extradition approval secured, the court concluded that the purpose for which he was surrendered stands exhausted, leaving no legal basis to retain him in the country.

The Three Cases

* Pillai was alleged to have been involved in a 2013 extortion case, where ₹75 lakh was demanded from a builder in a redevelopment project. The builder was the brother of an ex-MLA of the MNS. Pillai was acquitted in 2020, as the prosecution failed to establish his involvement.

* Pillai was accused of extortion and conspiracy in a shooting incident at the office of another Vikhroli builder in 2009. The builder, Ramesh Shah, alleged he had received repeated threatening calls demanding money, after which a gunman opened fire at his office. In 2022, Pillai was acquitted in the case, after no evidence was found linking him to the alleged calls or the firing.

* Pillai was also linked to the 2009 shooting at a developer’s office in Kanjurmarg involving the Lodha Group. The shooter left behind a chit bearing Pillai’s phone number. He was acquitted in 2024, after the prosecution failed to establish a watertight case.