Mumbai, Apr 16 A special court here on Thursday directed the police to issue no objection certificate for alleged gangster Kumar Pillai's return to his home country Hong Kong and not insist on sending him to Singapore, from where he was extradited.
The court remarked that compelling him to travel to Singapore in absence of any statutory provision or treaty obligation "would be arbitrary, unreasonable, and contrary to the rule of law".
On the other hand, permitting Pillai to return to his country of citizenship "would be the most natural, reasonable, and legally sustainable course", special judge for MCOCA cases Satyanarayan R Navander stated.
Pillai cannot be compelled to obtain a visa of a foreign country of which he is not a citizen, nor can he be forced to enter such country against his will and in the absence of any legal mandate, the court said.
"It is a settled principle that any restriction on personal liberty must have a clear sanction of law," said the order on Pillai's plea seeking clarification on his extradition.
Pillai, a Hong Kong passport-holder, was originally extradited to India to face prosecution in three cases, including the 2009 firing at Kanjurmarg office of Lodha Developers. He was arrested in Singapore in 2016 following a 2012 Red Corner Notice issued against him.
The issue of his extradition arose following the conclusion of the specific cases for which he was extradited.
The prosecution initially argued that under the "principle of speciality," the law mandated Pillai be returned specifically to the surrendering state, which is Singapore.
However, Pillai's lawyer Pankaj Kavale, countered that his client is a citizen of Hong Kong and not Singapore.
Forcing him to return to a country where he has no legal standing would cause "undue hardship" and potentially leave him "stateless", Kavale submitted.
Judge Navander said there was no stipulation in the original extradition order or any undertaking by India requiring Pillai's return to Singapore. Further, Singapore has not made any formal request for the restoration of Pillai's custody, the court said.
The special court emphasised that the state had already expressed its inability to cover the costs of repatriation, making it "unjust" to impose further destination restrictions on the applicant.
The court then permitted Pillai to travel to Hong Kong and directed the state and DCB CID to issue no objection certificate (NOC).
