India cannot provide any deadline for the return of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, as Dhaka's extradition request is still being examined through a legal process, Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi said on Saturday.
Responding to questions about repeated requests from Bangladesh for Hasina's extradition, Trivedi said there was no timeframe that could be given for her return. He reiterated India's position that the request was being examined through an established and structured legal process.
India says Hasina extradition request under legal process
"Nobody can give you a time frame (over Hasina's return)," Trivedi said during a discussion organised by a private think tank in Dhaka.
He said the Indian government had repeatedly maintained that there was a process in place and that the process was legal and well structured.
Trivedi also clarified that Hasina had not been brought to India by the Indian Air Force or the Indian Army.
Hasina, 79, has been living in India since she left Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, following the collapse of her government amid a major anti-government agitation, referred to as the July Uprising.
Bangladesh Air Force aircraft brought Hasina to India
According to Trivedi, Hasina was still serving as Bangladesh's prime minister when she arrived in India. He said a Bangladesh Air Force aircraft carried her to India as the situation in Dhaka deteriorated.
He said India had little choice in the circumstances and described accepting Hasina as a neighbourly response to an unfolding situation.
"At that point in time, she (Hasina) was still the prime minister of Bangladesh. We had hardly any choice on that," Trivedi said.
He added that the situation had developed because of "tragic circumstances" in Bangladesh and said such circumstances should not be repeated anywhere in the world.
The protests that eventually toppled Hasina's government had initially begun over a government job-quota system before expanding into a wider anti-government movement. At the time, a Bangladesh Army-led security detachment escorted Hasina from her official residence as protesters moved towards the premises.
Extradition demand has strained India-Bangladesh ties
The extradition issue has remained a major point of tension between India and Bangladesh. After Hasina's government was toppled, an interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus took charge on August 8, 2024.
During the Yunus-led interim administration, relations between the two neighbouring countries deteriorated amid disagreements over Hasina's extradition, concerns over attacks on minorities and Bangladesh's deeper engagement with China.
In 2025, Hasina was tried in absentia by a special tribunal and sentenced to death. The interim government also disbanded her Awami League party and sought her extradition through a diplomatic note.
Following the February 12 elections, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party government led by Tarique Rahman endorsed the ban on Hasina's party and continued to press for her extradition.
Hasina had said she would return to Bangladesh
The issue gained further attention after Hasina addressed a virtual press conference from New Delhi on August 5. It was her first public media interaction since she left Bangladesh.
During the audio-only interaction, Hasina said she remained determined to return to Bangladesh in December and claimed she was prepared to face imprisonment or even a death sentence.
"I know, they may put me in jail or kill me," she said, adding that she would return to be with her people.
The Bangladesh foreign ministry later said the process surrounding Tarique Rahman's proposed visit to India had been affected by Hasina's virtual interaction. India, however, maintained that it had no role in the media event and did not endorse statements made there about the Bangladesh government.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said there would be no scope for Hasina to surrender, claiming she would be arrested immediately upon her return and that the court verdict against her would be executed according to law.
Trivedi's latest comments are his first explicit remarks on Hasina's extradition. He had previously declined to comment on matters involving "politics".
(With inputs from PTI)
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