
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday said the extradition of Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina was a legal matter that would be addressed through the appropriate legal process.
Jaiswal was speaking at a biweekly press briefing in New Delhi.
“And obviously, for travel of people, you need a travel document,” he said in response to a question about Hasina's extradition.
Asked about Hasina's passport and national identity card (NID), Jaiswal advised reporters to seek clarification from the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi.
“This is a matter they would be in a better position to respond to,” he said.
The remarks came amid questions over a request by UK-based legal advisory firm Matrix Chambers, which wrote to the Bangladesh High Commission on November 9 seeking a new passport and NID for Hasina.
Dhaka, however, has ruled out issuing the documents, maintaining that Hasina must return to Bangladesh through the existing extradition process between the two countries.
The Bangladesh mission has confirmed receiving the email but questioned whether the law firm was authorised to make the request on Hasina's behalf.
Speaking to The Daily Star on Monday, the mission's Press Minister Md Saidur Rahman said they had received an email from Matrix Chambers requesting Hasina's passport and NID.
“However, we are not sure whether the request is genuine. There is no way for us to establish that the request was made on behalf of Sheikh Hasina, as the email sent by the law firm did not include any document or proof of her authorisation. However, we have forwarded the email to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” he said.
In its November 9 letter, Matrix Chambers identified itself as Hasina's legal counsel and sought new passport and NID documents for its client, claiming that the interim government and other authorities had revoked her existing documents.
However, the firm did not provide any authorisation or supporting documents to establish that Hasina had engaged it, according to the Bangladesh mission.
A foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said passports and NIDs were highly personal documents and that legal representatives could process applications for them only with proper authorisation from the individuals concerned.
Hasina has been staying in India since fleeing Bangladesh during the mass uprising in August 2024. In November 2025, she was sentenced to death in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for crimes against humanity.
Dhaka first formally sought her extradition through a diplomatic note verbale in December 2024 and renewed the request following her conviction.
Hasina has recently reiterated her resolve to return to Bangladesh this December.
Meanwhile, asked about the Ganges water-sharing issue, Jaiswal said there were no further updates.
He also said there was no update on a possible visit to India by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
On reports that Chinese vloggers had been filming in Dhaka's slum areas for months and presenting the locations as parts of New Delhi during livestreams on Chinese social media platforms, Jaiswal urged the authorities concerned to take action.
“We have seen media reports in this regard. Such efforts to present a distorted picture of any country are unfortunate,” he said.
“Insofar as efforts to use foreign elements to portray Dhaka as Delhi are concerned, the peddling of false narratives only undermines the credibility of those who are undertaking such actions and those who are behind them. And I would urge the authorities concerned to take action against such people,” he added.
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