Sheikh Hasina extradition request under legal review, says India

"We will continue to engage constructively on the issue with all stakeholders,” Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing.

Published on: Apr 18, 2026, 06:58:36 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

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New Delhi : India said on Friday that the Bangladesh government’s request for extraditing former premier Sheikh Hasina is being examined as part of judicial and legal processes, while emphasising that New Delhi will constructively engage with all stakeholders on the matter.

India examining Bangladesh request to extradite Sheikh Hasina, says govt (X/ ANI)

There has been a subtle shift in India’s position on the matter, which was also raised when Bangladesh foreign minister Khalilur Rahman met external affairs minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi on April 8, especially in view of the Indian side’s focus on forging a working relationship with the new government in Dhaka. Hasina has lived in self-exile in India since she fled Bangladesh in August 2024 after the ouster of her government following weeks of student-led protests. Bangladesh’s erstwhile interim government first made the request for her extradition in December 2024.

“The request is being examined as part of ongoing judicial and internal legal processes. We will continue to engage constructively on the issue with all stakeholders,” Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing in response to a question from HT.

Jaiswal responded to another question about a law passed by Bangladesh’s Parliament this month that is expected to give legal backing to the ban imposed on Hasina’s Awami League party by the interim government by saying: “We follow all developments very closely.”

A statement issued by Bangladesh’s foreign ministry after Rahman’s meeting with Jaishankar had said the Bangladesh side “reiterated its request to extradite Hasina and her home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal” as they had been given the death penalty by the International Crimes Tribunal. People familiar with the matter said the The Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2026, passed recently by Bangladesh’s Parliament to endorse the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, has provisions to ban individuals or entities involved in terrorist activities. The law does not specifically refer to any political party and it remains to be seen whether it would be used against the Awami League, the people said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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