Ashwin and Dina Patel (names changed) got married in Mumbai in 2002. Soon after, they moved to the US and there, had a daughter, Seema. In 2005, Dina, on grounds of abuse, obtained an order of judicial separation from Ashwin from a US court. The court granted interim custody of Seema to Dina, and access to the child to Ashwin.
After Ashwin returned to India with their daughter, Dina filed a case against Ashwin in the US accusing him of kidnapping Seema. Consequently, the US police issued two arrest warrants against him: a custody violation warrant, and a kidnapping felony warrant. A Red Corner notice was also issued against Ashwin by Interpol, which was recently upheld by the Bombay High Court after a petition was filed by Ashwin seeking stay on the warrants and notice.
Now, the Supreme Court has ruled that an Indian citizen locked in a “matrimonial dispute” cannot be extradited to another country, as a “matrimonial dispute does not constitute an extraditable offence.”
The apex court recognised that the husband violated US laws. “The husband came to India with the child in 2006 and in violation of US custody orders.” But the SC held that merely the issuing of a “Red Corner” notice by a court abroad doesn’t mean the arrest of the person is required. The foreign government needs to issue a request for extradition, which hasn’t been done in this case. An act may be an offence in a particular country, but if not a crime in India, a citizen can’t be extradited, ruled the bench comprising Justices SB Sinha and Mukundakam Sharma. Upholding the precedence of local laws over foreign enactments, the apex court said, “HC was, therefore, in our opinion, clearly wrong in holding that a Red Corner Notice should not be tinkered with.”
