Direct answer
The dossier must tell one verified case across two legal systems
Confirm the Indian FIR or complaint, court with jurisdiction, valid warrant, exact offences, limitation position, identity and location of the person, evidentiary summary and documents proving the alleged conduct. The Ministry of External Affairs guidance should be read with the applicable treaty and the requested state's requirements. Use certified translations and consistent names, dates, amounts and exhibits throughout.
Map each alleged act to the Indian offence and the corresponding conduct punishable in the requested state. Address arrest purpose, prosecution or sentence status, potential speciality assurances, punishment issues and any additional information likely to be sought. After surrender, coordinate lawful custody, production and the limits of the grant; extradition for one defined case should not be treated as permission to proceed on every unrelated allegation.
Legal analysis
A request succeeds or fails on authority, identity, conduct and proof
Foreign counsel should review the requested state's procedural and evidentiary requirements before the Indian papers are frozen into an inconsistent dossier.
Indian judicial foundation
Verify jurisdiction, live warrant, cognizance or charging stage, offence sections and purpose of return. A stale or mismatched warrant can undermine urgency and credibility.
Practical focus: Create a certified Indian order set with procedural chronology.
Treaty and requested-state requirements
Check extraditable-offence thresholds, dual criminality, limitation, evidence format, authentication, translations and grounds of refusal in the official instrument.
Practical focus: Use a treaty compliance schedule reviewed with foreign counsel.
Identity and location
Use complete biographical, passport, citizenship, alias, photograph and location data. Distinguish verified residence from intelligence and explain genuine inconsistencies.
Practical focus: Maintain a source-labelled identity and location annexure.
Evidence and assurances
Present a coherent allegation supported by admissible or treaty-compliant material. Identify required punishment, speciality, custody, retrial or fair-process assurances without offering statements no authority can honour.
Practical focus: Link every factual proposition and assurance to an authorised document.
Evidence plan
The outgoing dossier should be auditable document by document
A concise, indexed and authenticated record is more usable than a large bundle containing inconsistent narratives or unexplained acronyms.
| Record | What it may establish | What it cannot establish by itself |
|---|---|---|
| FIR, complaint and charge material | Indian allegation, offences, period and accused role | Foreign arrest authority by itself |
| Live warrant and judicial orders | Indian court process and purpose of return | Treaty compliance automatically |
| Witness and transaction evidence | Prima facie factual basis and attribution | Foreign admissibility without required certification |
| Identity and location package | Correct person and reliable location leads | Proof of the offence |
| Treaty checklist and translations | Formal request compliance and intelligibility | Substantive reliability of the underlying evidence |
| Authorised assurances | Requested protections within competent authority | A waiver of all future legal issues |
Response roadmap
From Indian warrant to lawful return
- 01
Audit the Indian case
Confirm jurisdiction, warrant, charges, limitation, evidence status and the precise purpose for seeking return.
- 02
Identify person and requested state
Verify nationality, aliases, location and the treaty or arrangement in force.
- 03
Draft and authenticate the dossier
Index facts, law, evidence, translations, certifications and assurances under MEA and treaty requirements.
- 04
Coordinate the foreign proceeding
Work with the competent authorities and qualified foreign counsel on provisional arrest, supplementation and hearings.
- 05
Plan surrender and speciality compliance
Coordinate travel, custody, production, case scope and any conditions attached to the foreign decision.
Delhi forum context
Delhi coordinates the Indian request; the requested state decides under its law
Indian investigators, the concerned court and the Ministry of External Affairs perform different roles in preparing and transmitting the request. The foreign central authority and courts then apply their own law and the applicable treaty.
A Delhi lawyer can organise the Indian record and coordinate the cross-border case, but must not present foreign-law conclusions without appropriate local advice. The website does not promise that a request will be accepted or completed within a fixed period.
Focused questions
Questions commonly arising at this stage
Who sends an extradition request from India?
The Ministry of External Affairs is the Central Authority, working from the competent investigating and judicial record. The applicable guidance and treaty determine transmission and content.
Can India seek provisional arrest first?
Urgent provisional arrest may be available under the Act or applicable treaty, but it requires specified information and a timely formal request. The requested state's law and treaty clock control.
What if the person has changed nationality?
Nationality may affect a requested state's law or treaty position, but it does not resolve identity or liability automatically. Verify citizenship dates, residence, passports and the controlling instrument.
Can more documents be supplied later?
A requested state may seek supplementary information, but avoid relying on later repair of a fundamentally inconsistent request. Preserve a versioned record of every transmission.
Primary materials
Official sources for verification
Use the current statutory text, rules, notifications, roster and orders. This page is an issue map, not a substitute for checking the live record.
Case preparation
Convert the papers into a dated, transaction-level brief
For an initial assessment, organise the latest summons or order, case particulars, a one-page chronology, the relevant bank or property trail, and the exact next deadline. Do not alter, rename or selectively delete electronic records.
Part of the Extradition & Cross-Border Process research cluster. Substantive legal propositions must be checked against the current Act, rules, notifications and binding decisions applicable to the actual record.