KATHMANDU, May 14: Progress on the long-awaited review of the extradition treaty between Nepal and India remains uncertain, even as the government has moved ahead with tabling an agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters in Parliament.
Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Sobita Gautam presented the agreement in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. However, there is still no clear indication on the revision of the decades-old extradition treaty, which has remained under discussion for years.
During the Nepal–India Home Secretary-level talks held in New Delhi on July 22 and 23, 2025, two key issues were on the table: finalising the draft agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and advancing the review of the 72-year-old extradition treaty.
The meeting had agreed to finalise the draft agreement and work towards an early conclusion of the treaty review process. The government has since tabled the agreement in Parliament in line with that understanding. However, the extradition treaty review has entered a more complicated phase, largely due to India’s proposal that even third-country nationals should be eligible for extradition—a position Nepal has not agreed to.
“Agreement and treaty review are different matters. The agreement itself can further complicate the treaty process,” said security expert Hemanta Malla. “Nepal could not agree to India’s proposal. The issue of extraditing third-country nationals remains unacceptable for Nepal. That position likely still stands.”
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The mutual legal assistance agreement focuses on cooperation in criminal matters, including investigation, prosecution, and the exchange of evidence, witnesses, documents, and information. It is intended to make judicial cooperation more effective and timely, and could indirectly support extradition-related processes. However, Nepal has so far moved forward only with the agreement, without making any formal progress on treaty revision.
Presenting the agreement in Parliament, Minister Gautam said it was signed between Nepal and India on May 19, 2025. She said the agreement aims to make criminal investigations, prosecutions, and judicial processes between the two countries more effective and streamlined through legal mechanisms.
“This agreement has been concluded with the main objective of making criminal investigations, prosecutions, and judicial matters between the two countries more effective and smooth through legal means,” she said, adding that its implementation would further ease legal cooperation and judicial proceedings in both countries.
Although it was earlier expected that the agreement would pave the way for a review of the 1953 extradition treaty, the Nepali government has not made any formal statement on its revision. At the time of the agreement, during the home secretary-level talks, Nepal had not publicly disclosed the understanding, while India’s Home Ministry had confirmed it.
“The home secretaries of both countries welcomed the finalisation of the mutual legal assistance agreement in criminal matters and agreed to work towards an early conclusion of the revised extradition treaty,” the Indian Home Ministry had said in a statement at the time.
At a time when there was speculation about a possible visit by India’s Foreign Secretary to Nepal, the tabling of the agreement in Parliament is being seen as keeping diplomatic channels open, even though the visit did not materialise.
Security expert Malla said the agreement is a positive step and will help strengthen criminal investigations. He noted that both Nepali and Indian nationals often commit crimes and cross borders, making cross-border cooperation essential for arrest, investigation, and prosecution.
Although an extradition treaty already exists between Nepal and India, there was previously no separate mutual legal assistance framework. The newly tabled agreement is a distinct legal instrument. Because treaties and agreements operate in different legal frameworks, they have not progressed in parallel.
However, security experts say the mutual legal assistance agreement could, in certain cases, strengthen the implementation aspect of the extradition treaty.
An extradition treaty is a legal agreement between two countries to transfer individuals accused or convicted of crimes who have fled across borders after completing legal procedures. Its core purpose is to ensure that offenders cannot evade justice by seeking refuge in another country.
The existing extradition treaty between Nepal and India, signed in 1953 when Matrika Prasad Koirala was Prime Minister, also allows the extradition of third-country nationals under specific conditions.
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