‘India must not give up on extraditing Kim Davy, accused in Purulia arms drop

Synopsis: By stalling the process of extradition of Kim Davy, Denmark has shown contempt for Indian institutions.

Introduction

Kim Davy, a citizen of Denmark was prime accused in the Purulia bomb drop case, where arms were dropped in West Bengal from an unidentified airplane. Kim Davy has also publicly accepted to be part of the operation.

After this, India raised the issue of the extradition of Kim Davy from Denmark to India.

What has been the history of the extradition issue?

Initially, Denmark was reluctant and asked for assurances that he would not face the death penalty, would be safe in jail during the trial and would be allowed to serve his sentence, if convicted, in Denmark. These demands were accepted by India. Finally, an extradition order was passed by the Danish government in 2010.

Davy appealed to a court against the extradition order. The CBI sent a team, presented India’s stand to Copenhagen, but the Danish government lawyers ignored them. The court’s issued a judgment that relied on the testimony of NGOs and ignored the sovereign guarantees of the government.

What was the impact of this on India-Denmark relations?

The Ministry of External Affairs noted the judgment would encourage “terrorists and criminals”. It also rejected “the grounds cited by the Danish court as the basis of its decision”.

Further, the Indian embassy in Copenhagen stated that India’s relations with Denmark were affected by the extradition case of Kim Davy. This included trade and economic relations and cooperation in multilateral forums.

What should be the way forward?

India should continue to build its relations and prepare for upcoming high-level visits with Denmark. India should have to resolve the issues of the Indian judicial system.

Source: This post is based on the article ‘India must not give up on extraditing Kim Davy, accused in Purulia arms drop” published in the Indian Express on 28th October 2021.