NEW DELHI: Union Home and Cooperation minister Amit Shah on Thursday announced a comprehensive set of reforms aimed at overhauling India’s extradition framework and intensifying the crackdown on fugitive offenders operating from abroad.
He was addressing the ‘Extradition of Fugitives: Challenges and Strategies’ conference organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in New Delhi.
The high-level meeting was attended by the Union Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Director of the Intelligence Bureau, and the CBI Director. Shah said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, India is not only protecting its borders but also reinforcing the rule of law beyond them. “The perception that criminals can escape Indian justice by fleeing abroad is ending,” he asserted.
Reiterating the government’s “zero-tolerance” policy towards corruption, organised crime, and terrorism, Shah highlighted the establishment of the CBI’s Global Operation Centre, which enables real-time coordination with international law enforcement agencies. Between January and September 2025, the CBI issued over 190 Red Corner Notices—its highest ever. Initiatives such as Operation Trishul and the BHARATPOL mechanism, he said, have significantly strengthened global cooperation.
The Home minister noted that the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, has led to asset seizures worth nearly $2 billion, while amendments to the Money Laundering Act have resulted in attachments of assets valued at $12 billion between 2014 and 2023.
Shah urged all states to set up expert extradition cells and create databases to trace and repatriate fugitives.
Referring to new provisions in the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), he said that allowing Trial in Absentia would empower courts to try and convict fugitives even without their physical presence.
He also called for special fugitive prisons and stronger links between passport control and law enforcement to ensure no offender remains beyond India’s legal reach.