- Why in news
- On 4 August 2026 the Home Ministry said 274 fugitives were brought back to India from 36 countries between 2019 and 2026, and described its strategy on fugitives.
- What it is
- The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 lets special courts declare a person a fugitive economic offender and confiscate assets, without waiting for a conviction. Extradition is the formal handover of an accused or convicted person by one state to another, based on a treaty or arrangement and the laws of both countries. Together they form India's legal route against offenders who flee abroad.
- FEO Act year
- The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act was enacted in 2018 to act against economic fugitives and their assets.
- Trial in absentia
- Sections 355 and 356 of the BNSS provide for trial in absentia of a fugitive accused.
- Standing Focus Group
- A Standing Focus Group under the IB's Multi Agency Centre was set up in January 2026 to prioritise and follow up fugitive cases.
- Interpol notices
- A Red Corner Notice is an Interpol alert to locate and provisionally arrest a wanted person pending extradition. It is not an international arrest warrant.
Don’t confuse with Extradition vs deportation: Extradition is a treaty-based handover to a state that seeks the person for trial or sentence. Deportation is a unilateral removal of a foreign national by the host state.
Don’t confuse with Red Corner Notice vs arrest warrant: A Red Corner Notice is an Interpol alert and request. It does not itself compel arrest; national law decides action.
Laws, judgments and statutory bodies: 30 Prelims questions since 2013 (what the law says, who chairs, legal basis). In Mains, 44 news-triggered questions, most in GS2, asking for provisions and challenges.
Why it matters
- Return of fugitives upholds the rule of law and gives justice to victims of terror, fraud and violent crime.
- Asset attachment and trial in absentia help recover public money and prevent delay from absconding.
Problems
- Foreign courts can refuse extradition on grounds such as dual criminality, human rights and prison conditions, and the process is slow.
- Trial in absentia and confiscation without conviction raise fair-trial and property-rights concerns.
Way forward
- Widen extradition treaties and mutual legal assistance arrangements, with well-prepared standard dossiers and assurances on prison conditions.
- Keep procedural safeguards in domestic laws so that they survive judicial review, and improve agency coordination.
Put in your answer
Asset attachment: Assets worth ₹17,874 crore of fugitives were attached under PMLA between 2019 and 2026.
Tahawwur Rana: The extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana from the United States is cited as an example of sustained legal and diplomatic effort in a terror case.
- 2013Mains GS3 · Q21Significance of money laundering for India's economic sovereignty and control steps
- 2021Mains GS3 · Q9How technology and globalisation aid money laundering; national and international countermeasures
- 2026Mains GS3 · Q20Counterfeit currency and money laundering as terror funding; international actions, FATF role
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Statements
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
Consider the following statements:
- 1.Sections 355 and 356 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita provide for trial in absentia of a fugitive accused.
- 2.The Standing Focus Group on fugitives was constituted under the Multi Agency Centre of the Research and Analysis Wing.
- 3.A Red Corner Notice issued by Interpol is an international arrest warrant that compels member states to arrest the person.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
True or false?
1 of 7
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.Sections 355 and 356 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita provide for trial in absentia of a fugitive accused.
True. BNSS Sections 355 and 356 allow trial in absentia.
2.The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act was enacted in 2018.
True. It was enacted in 2018.
3.BHARATPOL was launched in January 2025 to link the CBI with State and district police on a single platform.
True. Launched January 2025; integrates CBI, State and district police.
4.The Standing Focus Group on fugitives was constituted under the Multi Agency Centre of the Research and Analysis Wing.
False. It was constituted under the Multi Agency Centre of the Intelligence Bureau, in January 2026.
5.A Red Corner Notice issued by Interpol is an international arrest warrant that compels member states to arrest the person.
False. It is a request to locate and provisionally arrest; it is not binding as a warrant.
6.Under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, a person can be declared a fugitive economic offender by a special court designated under the PMLA.
True. Declaration is by the Special Court under the PMLA.
7.The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 applies to economic offences of any amount, however small.
False. It applies only where the scheduled offences involve ₹100 crore or more.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Mains practice
15 marks · 250 words
The Home Ministry has said that 274 fugitives were brought back to India from 36 countries between 2019 and 2026. Discuss the legal and institutional framework India has built to deal with fugitive offenders. Examine the challenges that still limit extradition.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.