My Science School

Extradition refers to the deportation of a person to his home country where he has committed a crime.

The topic of extradition is in the news because of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi. He recently lost in a UK court an appeal against extradition to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering in an alleged $2 billion fraud case. But what is extradition? Let's find out...

A deterrent to offenders

Extradition means deportation of a person accused of a crime to his home country. An international mechanism, it is essential as it brings fugitives (persons running away to avoid being caught by police) to face trial in the country they have committed crimes. Fugitives flee to foreign lands in order to escape the law of their own country. Extradition acts as a deterrent against potential offenders who consider escape an easy way to subvert justice.

How does the process work?

Extradition is the process by which a state, based on the request of another, sends back a person to stand trial for a crime punishable by the laws of the requesting state. An extradition request can be initiated in the case of under-investigation. under-trial, and convicted criminals.

The Indian Extradition Act, 1962 provides India legislative basis for extradition. This Act consolidates the law relating to the extradition of fugitives from India to foreign states and vice versa. The basis of the extradition could be a treaty between India and another country. India has extradition treaties with nearly 40 countries, including the UK, the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, and Germany.

Request through MEA

A request for extradition on behalf of India can only be made by the Ministry of External Affairs, which formally submits the request to the respective foreign country through diplomatic channels. Here it has to be noted that extradition is not available at the request of members of the public.

In case of urgency, India may request a provisional arrest of the fugitive, pending presentation of an extradition request. Request for a provisional arrest is considered appropriate when it is believed that the fugitive may flee the jurisdiction.

Are there grounds for extradition requests being turned down? Yes, there are. If the offence committed is political in nature such as treason and espionage, if the offence carries capital punishment in the requesting country, if torture or inhuman treatment is possible, or if it is a military offence, the extradition request could be refused.

Nirav Modi case

Diamond merchant Nirav Modi along with his associates allegedly siphoned off Rs 14,000 crore from state-owned Punjab National Bank in connivance with some bank officials. PNB unearthed the scam on January 25, 2018. In February, an FIR was filed with the CBI against Modi and his associates. In its complaint, PNB had alleged that Modi and companies linked to him fraudulently acquired guarantees worth $1.77 billion or Rs 11,400 crore to obtain loans from the overseas branches of Indian banks, claiming to need the cash to import pearls. Nirav Modi fled India on January 1, 2018, to evade the law days before a case was registered against him and his associates. The Indian govemment sent a request for extradition of Nirav Modi to the U.K. authorities on August 3, 2018. After several twists and turns in the case, Modi lost his appeal against extradition to India in the London High Court. Meanwhile, Nirav Modi has filed an application in the London High Court, seeking permission to appeal against its decision to extradite him to India in the U.K. Supreme Court.

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Meaning: It refers to any of the large rats of southern Asia, and to small insectivorous and herbivorous marsupial mammals of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea.

Origin: In use since the 18th Century, it originated from the Telugu word pandi-kokku, meaning pig-rat. Later the marsupials came to be known as bandicoots too, due to their resemblance to the large rats.

Example: We were sure it was a bandicoot that scurried off into our shed.

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(pronounced as ski.tl)

Meaning: The word skittle corresponds to a game played with wooden pins, usually nine in number, set up at the end of an alley to be bowled down with a wooden disc or ball. The pin used in the game of skittles is also referred to as a skittle.

When used as a verb, the word can imply knocking things over, like in the game of skittles.

Origin: The word has been around from the 1630s. It could probably be from a Scandinavian source and can be compared with Danish and Norwegian skyttel meaning "shuttle, child's toy". The Oxford English Dictionary, however, says there is no evidence of such a connection.

Usage: Her incisive swing bowling meant that their opposition were often skittled out for a low total.

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Meaning: Voluntary is an adjective used to describe something you do because you wish to, without being forced into it. Voluntary can also describe a service offered without expecting any payment.

Origin: The term voluntary' comes from the Latin word voluntarius, which means "of one's free will." The Latin voluntas means 'will or desire'. The first-ever use of the term "voluntary" in English can be traced back to the late 14th Century.

Usage: My mother does voluntary work in her spare time.

The organisation is run on voluntary contributions from people within the country.

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(pronounced mag-NAN-uh-mus)

Meaning: This adjective is a formal word that means having or showing a generous and kind nature.

Origin: It is a combination of two Latin words magnus that stands for great and animus that means soul or spirit. It entered the English language in mid-16th Century.

Usage: She was a woman capable of magnanimous gestures.

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Meaning: A verb, wheedle means to use words for flattery. It is done to persuade the other person to do something.

Origin: The first-known use of the word was in 1661, although the origin of the word is still not known.

Usage: The sales representative was so good that she could easily wheedle my brother into spending more money than he had intended to.

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Meaning: A verb, titivate means to make something attractive. It can be used for an object or for a person as well and refers to improving the appearance using small changes.

Origin: The word is believed to have been derived from the word tidy. It may have been formed using a combination of 'tidy' and 'renovate'.

Usage: The minister announced his plans to titivate the rehabilitation centre at the meeting.

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Meaning: The word binge refers to a period of excessive indulgence in an activity, especially eating, drinking, and now watching content as well.

Origin: The word binge is noted in British writer Arthur Benoni Evans "Leicestershire Words, Phrases and Proverbs", originally published in 1848. In this, the word is said to be a dialect verb for "to soak in water a wooden vessel, that would otherwise leak," to make the wood swell. Evans adds that it was later extended locally to refer to excessive drinking ("soaking").

 The sense of binge-eating started around World War 1, while binge-watching made its foray in 1996.

Usage: He binge-watched all the episodes of the series in the last three days.

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Meaning: This verb means to make to make amends: to provide or serve as reparation or compensation.

Origin: Atone has its roots in the idea of reconciliation and harmony. It grew out of the Middle English phrase 'at on’ meaning ‘in harmony’. When atone joined modem English in the 16th century, it meant "to reconcile," and suggested the restoration of a peaceful and harmonious state between people or groups. Today, this word specifically implies addressing the damage or disharmony caused by one's own behaviour.

Usage: James tried to atone for the wrong doings of his youth by devoting his life to helping others.

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Meaning: A noun, abatement suggests reprieve or the act of reducing something, or making something unpleasant less intense. It may be used to refer to a reduction in penalties, a rebate or a respite in war.

Origin: The term comes from Anglo-Norman French, from Old French abatre meaning "fell, put an end to". It entered English in the mid-14th Century.

Usage: The long war shows no sign of abatement.

 With no abatement in the bursting of firecrackers on Diwali night, the poor dogs in the neighbourhood kept howling.

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Meaning: This adjective refers to something very obvious and intentional, when it is a bad thing.

Origin: Coined in 1596 by English poet Edmund Spenser in "The Faerie Queen". In the poem, the blatant beast is a thousand-tongued monster representing slander. Primarily alliterative, it is perhaps by Latin blatire, meaning "to babble". It entered general use by 1650s as "noisy in an offensive and vulgar way", and the sense of "obvious, glaringly conspicuous" is from 1889.

Usage: She turned her back on him in blatant disregard.

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Meaning: The word cornerstone corresponds to an important quality or feature on which a particular thing is based on or depends upon. It also denotes a stone that forms the base of a corner of a building, joining two walls.

 Origin: The word, also used as corner-stone, has been in use from late in the 13th Century. Originally used to refer to the "stone which lies at the corner of two walls and unites them," it acquired the figurative sense of "that on which anything is founded." The word is arrived at by combining the words 'corner and 'stone'.

In U.S. history, American politician Alexander H. Stephen's Cornerstone speech that explains that Confederate constitution was given on March 21, 1861.

Even though the word has been around for centuries, it has risen in popularity again in the last 100 years or so.

Usage: Funds for the primary schooling system were the cornerstone of her budget proposal.

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Meaning: Row as a noun means a noisy quarrel or argument. When the term is used this way, it's pronounced "rauv" which rhymes with "cow".

Origin: Row in the sense of a noisy quarrel has been in use in English since the mid-18th Century. But the origin of this word taking on this meaning is said to be uncertain.

Usage: An ugly row broke out between the two players in front of the spectators.

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Meaning: This noun refers to a joyous song or hymn of praise, tribute, thanksgiving, or triumph.

Origin: This word comes from the Latin word paian which was a hymn of thanksgiving addressed to Apollo. The first known use of paean in the English language can be traced back to 1589.

Usage: His retirement party featured many paeans for his long years of service to the company.

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Meaning: This noun refers to one who prepares and sells compounds for medicinal purposes.

Origin: In use since the mid-14th Century, its origin goes back to the Old French word apotecaire, in turn, from Late Latin apothecarius, meaning "storekeeper". This is from Latin apotheca, meaning "storehouse", from Greek the word apotheke, literally "a place where things are put away".

Usage: They fell ill and sought the assistance of the local apothecary.

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