Can Goa Club Owners Be Extradited From Thailand? What Treaty Says

Before India can put the Luthra brothers - Gaurav and Saurabh, owners of the Goa nightclub where a devastating fire killed 25 people - on trial for alleged negligence and murder, it has to get them back in the country.

The brothers took an early morning flight on Monday, just hours after the midnight fire at Birch by Romeo Lane in Arpora on Sunday, and fled to Phuket in Thailand.

According to officials, fireworks have emerged as the likely cause of the blaze at the popular party venue in Arpora village, 25 km from Panaji.

Fire officials had said earlier that the club, located on the backwater of the Arpora river, had small exit doors connected only by a narrow bridge, which severely hampered the escape of people during the blaze.

The owners' escape was discovered after a massive manhunt was launched following the filing of an FIR. During the investigation, it was found from immigration records that the duo took an IndiGo flight 6E 1073 to Phuket at 5:30 am on Sunday.

The Luthras had built up the Romeo Lane chain across multiple cities - including Delhi, Goa and Haryana's Yamuna Nagar - after their first venture in Delhi, nightclub Mama's Buoi, became a runaway hit.

A senior official said that this swift exit by Luthras shows their "intent to avoid the police investigation."

The official said soon after an FIR was filed, police moved swiftly and dispatched a team to Delhi to conduct raids on the addresses of the two accused.

A lookout circular has been issued against them, and efforts are underway to seek the help of Interpol and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to bring them back.

While the owners remain abroad, the police have arrested key operational staff Bharat Kohli, one of the members of the management, from Delhi after obtaining his transit remand.

So far, the club's Chief General Manager Rajiv Modak, General Manager Vivek Singh, Bar Manager Rajiv Singhania, and Gate Manager Riyanshu Thakur have been arrested.

India also has the option of invoking the extradition treaty it signed with Thailand in 2013 to get the custody of the accused brothers.

What The Treaty Says

The treaty, which came into effect in 2015, provides the legal framework for seeking extradition of fugitive offenders, including those involved in terrorism, transnational crimes and economic offences among others.

The treaty provides for the extradition of any person who is wanted for trial or for the imposition or enforcement of a sentence by one 'Contracting State' and is found in the territory of the other 'Contracting State'.

Under the treaty, extraditable offences should be offences that are punishable under the laws of both Contracting States by imprisonment or any other form of deprivation of liberty for a period of at least one year, or by a more severe penalty.

According to the treaty, the central authority for deciding extradition in India is the Ministry of External Affairs and for Thailand it is the Attorney General.

Each Contracting State shall inform the other Contracting State of any change of the Central Authority through diplomatic channels, says the treaty.

A request for extradition has to be made in writing and transmitted to Central Authority of the Requested State through diplomatic channels, as per the treaty.

The request for extradition shall be accompanied by:

A) a description of the person sought, together with any information which would help to establish the nationality and probable location;

B) a statement of facts, including time and location of the commission of the offence for which extradition is requested;

C) the text of laws establishing each offence and describing the penalty which may be imposed;

D) a statement as to whether there is any limitation under the laws of the Requesting state in respect of proceedings or punishment.

If the Requested State considers that the information provided in support of a request for surrender is not sufficient, it may request that additional information be furnished within such time as it specifies, says the treaty.

All documents submitted in accordance with this Treaty shall be translated into the official language of the Requested State, it says.

In case of urgency, one contracting State may request the other contracting state to provisionally arrest the person sought, the treaty says.

Such a request shall be made in writing and transmitted to the central authority of the requested state through diplomatic channels.

The Requesting state, says the treaty, shall be notified without delay of the result of its request.

Where extradition is granted, the Requested State shall surrender the person from a convenient point of departure in the Requested State as agreed by the Contracting States, according to the treaty.