The passport record of an Indian-Canadian woman facing extradition to India on the charge of honour killing shows that she was not in India at the time of her daughter's murder.
Malkit Kaur Sidhu's lawyer David Crossin told the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver that his client's Canadian passport proved that she never went to India after May 1999, Sun News reported on Tuesday.
Malkit's daughter Jaswinder 'Jassi' Sidhu, 25, was found murdered in a canal in Ludhiana district in June 2000. She had gone to India in a bid to bring back her husband Sukhwinder 'Mithu' Sidhu, a tempo driver, whom her family strongly disapproved of. Malkit and her brother Surjit Singh Badesha face extradition to India. Seven other people in India have been convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in this case.
Crossin told the court that the evidence was supported by an affidavit from Malkit's son, who said he had talked with his mother on a daily basis during the time. "She wasn't there," Crossin was quoted as saying outside the court.
Justice Gregory Fitch has asked prosecuting lawyer Deborah Strachan to contact Indian officials to determine whether Malkit was in India at the time of the murder with alternative travel documentation.
{{/usCountry}}Justice Gregory Fitch has asked prosecuting lawyer Deborah Strachan to contact Indian officials to determine whether Malkit was in India at the time of the murder with alternative travel documentation.
{{/usCountry}}The prosecutor said outside the court that an extradition hearing did not have to consider evidence to make a decision.