Punjab and Haryana High Court: In a batch of petitions filed by alleged gangster Sukhpreet Singh Dhaliwal, commonly known as Sukhpreet Budha, seeking protection under Section 21 of the Extradition Act, 1962 (‘the Act’), the Single Judge Bench of Harpreet Singh Brar, J., dismissed the petitions holding that the rigours of Section 21 of the Act did not apply to Sukhpreet’s case since he came to India of his own vwwolition and was not extradited by the Union. The Court directed the authorities to expeditiously investigate the pending FIRs.
Background
In 2019, the petitioner was temporarily detained for 30 days as per the decision of the jurisdictional Court in Armenia. He was detained for two more months after receipt of an extradition request and consequent proceedings. Although an extradition request was made, no decree for the extradition of Sukhpreet was issued by the competent authorities in Armenia.
Upon the expiry of the detention period for extradition purposes, Sukhpreet was released from the custody of Armenian Authorities, and he subsequently departed from Armenia on the same day. When Sukhpreet arrived in Delhi in 2021, he was arrested by Punjab Police. Aggrieved, he foiled the present petitions.
The Union contended that Sukhpreet was a notorious gangster operating an extortion racket and was involved in more than 20 cases.
Analysis
The Court held that since Sukhpreet was never extradited to India by the Union but rather entered the country of his own volition, the rigors of Section 21 of the Act, which provided that a person extradited to India could not be tried for any offence other than those for which he was extradited, did not come to his aid. Consequently, his reliance on Daya Singh Lahoria v. Union of India (2001) 4 SCC 516 was also entirely misplaced.
Thus, the Court held that the petitions were devoid of any merit and no further directions were required to be passed.
The Court vacated the stay on further proceedings in the case stemming from FIR no. 194. The Court also directed the jurisdictional police authorities to conclude the investigation in the present FIR and the FIRs in all connected matters expeditiously. Accordingly, all the petitions were dismissed.
[Sukhpreet Singh Dhaliwal v. Union of India, CRM M No. 34834 of 2021, decided on 16-01-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the petitioners: Nikhil Ghai and Nikhil Thamman
For the respondents: Solicitor General of India Satya Pal Jain, Sahil Garg, and DAG Nitesh Sharma
