India to sign agreement with France on transfer of sentenced persons

New Delhi, Apr 12 (UNI) India will sign an agreement with France for the transfer of convicted persons in the two countries to serve their sentence in their repective homeland.

A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, today gave its approval for signing of the agreement in order to facilitate the transfer of foreign convicted prisoners to their home countries and prisoners of Indian origin are brought to India to serve the remaining part of their sentence.

Earlier, there was no legal provision either in the Code of Criminal procedure, or any other law, under which foreign prisoners could be transferred to the country of their origin to serve the remaining part of their sentence; nor was there a provision for the transfer of prisoners of Indian origin convicted by a foreign court to serve their sentence in India.

This agreement would enable the prisoners to be close to their families and would help in the process of their social rehabilitation, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told mediapersons.

The Cabinet gave its approval for signing of the agreement in order to facilitate visa-free travel between India and Ecuador for holders of diplomatic and official passports.

Mr Dasmunsi said the Cabinet gave its approval for signing of the extradition Treaty between India and Belarus and also to authorise ratification of the treaty.

The treaty would provide the necessary legal framework for seeking extradition of fugitive offenders, including economic offenders, from Belarus.

The Cabinet also gave its approval for signing of a MoU on cooperation in the fields of Agriculture and animal resources with Uganda and Rwanda.

The agreements will be signed during the upcoming proposed visit of Minister of State for Agriculture to Uganda and Rwanda.

Mr Dasmunsi said the Cabinet gave its approval for signing the agreement in the field of Vaccine Research by India and International Institute of Vaccine, Seoul, Korea.

UNI