Keir Starmer, as UK prosecution head, backed India’s 1st extradition case

Under Starmer’s overall charge as DPP and head of the Crown Prosecution Service, the latter successfully argued India’s case in Westminster Magistrates’ Court

​New Delhi:

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria Starmer are clapped in by staff as they enter his official residence at No 10 Downing Street for the first time in London, Britain, on Friday. (REUTERS)

Keir Starmer, the UK’s new prime minister, was director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013 when India obtained its first extradition of a wanted person since the two countries signed an extradition treaty in 1992. The extradition was ultimately blocked in 2019.

Mohammad Hanif Umerji Patel, alias Tiger Hanif, an alleged associate of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim wanted for 1993 bombings in Surat, was caught at a grocery store in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in March 2010.

Under Starmer’s overall charge as DPP and head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the latter successfully argued India’s case in Westminster Magistrates’ Court, which ordered Hanif’s extradition to New Delhi in May 2012.

Under the Extradition Act 2003, the CPS represents foreign states in extradition proceedings on the instructions of requesting state prosecutors and investigators.

A DPP oversees prosecution policy in the UK and may not be involved in day-to-day work of the CPS.

During proceedings, Hanif argued he would face torture in Indian jails, a contention overruled by the court.

Then-Home Secretary Theresa May signed the extradition order the same year, but the matter was kept pending for years before another home secretary, Sajid Javid, finally refused Hanif’s extradition in August 2019.

An Indian police officer familiar with the case, who asked not to be named, said, “The CPS vehemently argued the extradition case against Hanif and the evidence was appreciated by the court.”

“But it was blocked in 2019,” said this person.

The first extradition to India since the Indo-UK treaty took place in 2016, when Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel was sent back in a 2002 Gujarat riots-related case. Unlike others, Patel had not opposed his extradition.

In February 2020, bookie Sanjeev Chawla was extradited to India by the UK.

According to British media reports, as CPS head, Starmer handled major cases such as the murder of Stephen Lawrence (killed in a racist attack in April 1993) and the UK parliamentary expenses scandal (which emerged in 2009), besides overseeing several CPS reforms.

Starmer had advocated that prosecutors start from a position of believing victims, according to a Guardian report in December 2023.

On India, Starmer’s election manifesto commits to seeking a new strategic partnership and deepening cooperation in areas like security, education, technology and climate change.

It remains to be seen how he will handle India’s several pending extradition requests – including those of former liquor businessman Vijay Mallya, alleged arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari and fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi.

“We are hopeful that UK will process the extradition requests of these economic offenders at the earliest,” said the officer cited above.

Alex Swan, Of Counsel in Greenberg Traurig LLP’s London White Collar Crime & Investigations team, said, “I don’t anticipate that there will be any changes in the UK’s extradition policy vis-a-vis India but I do expect the new Government to maintain robust and fair processes, ensuring that the UK is viewed as a jurisdiction where justice and civil rights are protected and respected.”