Why India unlikely to return Hasina to face death penalty
Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh’s political landscape has been shaken by the International Crimes Tribunal’s verdict sentencing former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to death — a ruling that sparked widespread celebration among many of those who took to the streets against her government last year.
But despite the jubilation among some protesters, the path to carrying out the sentence remains deeply uncertain.
Hasina, 78, fled Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, as protesters stormed her official residence in Dhaka. She has since taken refuge in New Delhi, where she remains beyond the immediate reach of Bangladeshi authorities despite repeated formal requests for her extradition.
According to an Al Jazeera report, the sentence has renewed tensions between Dhaka and New Delhi, threatening to disrupt a bilateral relationship once anchored in close political and economic cooperation during Hasina’s long tenure.
Vindication for protesters, but justice still distant
For many young Bangladeshis who lost friends and family during last year’s mass demonstrations, the death sentence felt like long-awaited justice.
University of Dhaka student Shima Akhter, 24, told Al Jazeera that the verdict marked “a step towards justice for our martyrs”.
But she added that justice would only be complete if Hasina is executed in Dhaka — a prospect that remains highly improbable for now.
The tribunal found Hasina guilty of ordering
a deadly crackdown on the 2024 student-led uprising, which escalated after security forces violently suppressed protests over job quota reforms.
Nearly 1,400 people were killed, according to UN estimates — a staggering toll that ultimately forced Hasina out of office after 15 consecutive years in power.
India’s stance: political case, political complications
Despite Dhaka’s insistence that India has a legal obligation under the bilateral extradition treaty, New Delhi appears unwilling to hand over its longtime ally.
Former Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty told Al Jazeera that sending Hasina back to face execution is simply unthinkable for India.
Political analysts quoted in the report point to a key provision in the extradition treaty that exempts cases deemed “political in character”.
Sanjay Bhardwaj, professor of South Asian studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said India sees the charges against Hasina as driven by “political vindictiveness”.
From New Delhi’s viewpoint, he said, Bangladesh is currently governed by forces hostile to India — including Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, whose interim government has strengthened ties with Pakistan while criticizing New Delhi.
Handing Hasina over, Bhardwaj argued, would amount to endorsing the very actors who blame India for propping up her former administration.
Frosty ties and diplomatic deadlock
Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused India of ignoring its “obligatory responsibility” to return Hasina, warning that continued refusal would be a “highly unfriendly act” and a disregard for justice.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs has acknowledged the verdict but maintains that New Delhi will “engage constructively with all stakeholders” and remain committed to peace, democracy and stability in Bangladesh.
However, analysts interviewed by Al Jazeera say the bilateral relationship is at one of its lowest points in decades.
Chakravarty believes the strain will persist under the current interim administration, which regularly criticises India.
He suggested that Bangladesh’s upcoming February election — even with major parties banned or weakened — could open the door for a reset with an elected government.
India’s dilemma: navigating a post-Hasina Bangladesh Experts note that India faces a strategic conundrum.
Sreeradha Datta, a South Asia specialist at Jindal Global University, told Al Jazeera that while Hasina has always been New Delhi’s “best bet”, India is aware of her deep unpopularity among Bangladeshis today.
In the long term, she said, India must diversify its political outreach in Dhaka and build bridges with actors beyond the Awami League — something New Delhi has traditionally struggled to do.
Datta warned that the current moment is “very fragile” for bilateral ties, and India must find ways to move past the extradition dispute if it hopes to preserve its influence in Bangladesh.
Outlook: A widening diplomatic gulf As long as Hasina remains in India, the death sentence handed down in Dhaka remains largely symbolic. Bangladesh’s insistence on her extradition and India’s reluctance to comply have created a diplomatic standoff with no easy resolution.
With elections approaching, Dhaka’s political trajectory is still uncertain — and New Delhi may continue to wait out the turbulence rather than risk sending Hasina to the gallows.
For now, the fugitive former leader remains at the centre of a geopolitical rupture between two neighbours once seen as trusted allies — a divide that appears set to widen in the months ahead.