Extradition is difficult until conditions in Indian prisons improve: Justice Madan B. Lokur

Archives Judge Madan B. Lokur. |Picture source: Hindu

Even as India seeks return of fugitive diamond businessman Mehul Choksi, accused of fraud to Rs 13.578 crore in the Punjab National Bank case, former Supreme Court Justice Madan B. Madan B. Lokur warned on Tuesday (15 April 2025) that such drainage would improve conditions in India’s Prisesons until such extradition improves. Judge Lokur also presided over the United Nations Internal Judicial Committee.

He spoke in an initiative issued by the Tata Trusts published by India Justice Reports in 2025 and has been supported by several civil society organizations and data partners. They collectively track the performance of countries in various fields: police, judiciary, prisons and legal aid.

Judge Lokur cited the recent judgment of the British court that denied the extradition of Sanjay Bhandari, a defense counselor demanding alleged tax evasion and money laundering, citing unsafe internal to the Tihar Prison in Delhi.

Torture, prison conditions

Judge Lokur said he had read the appeals court order, adding that the extradition was based on torture and conditions rejected in Indian prisons. He also claimed that the British court had asked the Indian government to guarantee the conditions for jail four times, but only gave a eager reply.

“The British court mentioned the issue of Christian Michel, who has been in prison for many years. Recently, Michel was released on bail and he said he didn’t want it. Why? If I were released on bail, there would be certain conditions that would be placed on me. Instead, my chief incarceration, even if guilty, even within five months, I would like to be sentenced to five to six months in five to six months, this is my own case, this is my own case, this is my own case, this is my own case, this is my own case, this is my own case,” said Rockell.

Michel, a suspected intermediary in the Agustawestland case, has been sent to Tihar Prison since 2018.

CCTV security

Judge Lokur said the British court also pointed to Jagtar Johal who died in an Indian prison and Tillu Tajpuria, who was also murdered in Tihar.

“The camera, CCTV camera has taken the murder. Nothing happened. The prison staff stood there watching him beating and died. Ankit Gujjar was murdered in Tihar prison and this is being tried in the Delhi HC so we have all these incidents, all the incidents of the sentence,” he added. “So, given all this and reports of bribery by prison staff, there is no control over what is happening in the prison, the British court said it was not a good idea to send Mr Bhandari to India so that he could go to jail.

Judge Lokur said: “When India is still waiting for extradition troubles in various courts around the world, this judgment will have a very serious impact.” Meanwhile, IJR 2025 lists serious loopholes in Indian judiciary, police, prisons and legal aides. The report notes that India has 831 people with only one civil police officer to use and that none of the states/UTs meet their own reserved quotas for police women. It added that about 17% of police stations in the country do not have a CCTV, while 3 out of ten police stations do not have a female help desk.

Serious cases

IJR also revealed that out of the 2.03 million personnel in the police force, fewer than 1,000 women in senior positions were present.

It added that prisons in Uttar Pradesh are overcrowded, claiming more than half of the High Court judges in the state are missing. In addition, 91% of the prison population in Delhi includes trials.

IJR 2025 notes that 71% of trials and district courts in Bihar have pending cases for more than 3 years. The report revealed that Gujarat has the highest position among high court judges and staff.

The report also noted that the national per capita legal aid expenditure is Rs 6 per year, while the national per capita expenditure on prisons is Rs 57 per capita. The state per capita expenditure of the judiciary is Rs 182. India’s total annual expenditure in the judiciary is more than 1%.

The report says that Arunachal Pradesh, which established the State Human Rights Commission in 2023, has so far not had a functional website.