The arrest of Nadeem Akhtar by Scotland Yard here on Wednesday marks the beginning of what could be a long legal process to secure the extradition of the music director charged with the murder of music baron Gulshan Kumar.
One Indian diplomatic official said the procedure can take at least some months. During that period, Nadeem can legitimately stay on in Britain.
This is the second case in recent times where the Indian police have sought extradition, the first being Iqbal Memons case two years ago when the police failed to get him extradited. Both times the request has come from Mumbai police on charges of murder.
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India and Britain have signed an extradition treaty. Extradition facilities were in place earlier too because both are Commonwealth countries.
Scotland Yard is now advising the Mumbai Police to be more careful than they were in the case of Iqbal Memon two years ago, when extradition was sought first on the ground that he was staying in Britain illegally. That charge had turned out to be wrong. A red-faced Crown Prosecution Service, that represented the Mumbai Police in court in London, had to admit before the magistrate that they had been wrong in their accusation.
The police in both the countries now want to avoid the fiasco that led to the failure of extradition proceedings against Memon. The charge against him (Nadeem) is that on or before August 12 Nadeem Akhtar conspired with others to murder Gulshan Kumar in Mumbai, a spokeswoman of Scotland Yard said. We have an extradition warrant against him, she said.
An official from the Indian High Commission said that Scotland Yard and the Mumbai police had enough time to work out the arguments to be presented to court to seek his extradition.
Lawyers representing Nadeem are expected to contest his extradition strongly. Even if the magistrate does pass an order to extradite Nadeem, that can be challenged in the higher court where a virtual trial would have to be conducted. Only if British courts agree that the charges against the Indian music director look convincing can an extradition order be effected. The fact that Nadeem was in London when the Mumbai police said they wanted him means that the trial in an Indian case will now be conducted in London by way of arguments over extradition.
The Indian government or the Mumbai police are not directly involved in proceedings in the court in London. The Mumbai Police will have Scotland Yard acting for them here and the Crown Prosecution Service representing them in the courts.
Nadeems arrest came after he refused to return to Mumbai in response to the summons of a magistrate. Nadeem had told newsmen two weeks ago after the summons had been issued that he would return within ten days or two weeks.
Mumbai Police reportedly briefed Scotland Yard that Nadeem was unlikely to return on his own. The 43-year-old Nadeem, instead of making any move to return, hired a solicitors firm to represent him and went into hiding in the house of his cousin Nazish Chouglay in Kingsbury in north London. His solicitors have declined to make any comment on his behalf or to answer any questions.
Nadeem was released on bail after he was produced before the Bow Street magistrate on Wednesday. That is unlike the previous extradition case involving Iqbal Memmon, who was kept in police custody for several weeks.
The music director will have to emerge from hiding to present himself before the magistrates court at Bow Street on September 24. Nadeem Akhtar voluntarily gave himself up to the authorities, the Scotland Yard spokeswoman said.
His arrest had become imminent after he had refused to return to India as he had announced. The magistrate who released Nadeem on bail asked him to surrender his passport. The passport has been revoked by Indian authorities already.
Nadeem said he had come to Britain because his wife Sultana was to deliver a child. The child was still-born. Nadeem took the plea later that he had not responded to the summons by a Mumbai magistrate because his wife Sultana was unwell.