Extradition Stayed for Canadian Mother, Uncle Accused in Honor Killing

In an unexpected twist, the Supreme Court of Canada halted the extradition of two Indians accused of honor killing, minutes before their plane was about to take off. The duo was taken into custody by the Canadian authorities, and they will be produced in the court soon.

Malkit Sidhu and her brother Surjit Badesha are accused of masterminding the murder of Jaswinder (Jassi), Malkit’s daughter in 2000, following her marriage with Sukhwinder Singh Mithu against her family’s wishes. The Canadian Supreme Court had earlier this month passed a judgment allowing their extradition to India to face trial in the case. The two will now remain in the country pending a hearing in the case.

A spokesperson of the Federal Ministry of Justice was reported as saying that the surrender order for the accused was halted after the B.C Court of appeal accepted the filing of a judicial review. The spokesperson did not provide any information regarding the content of the appeal.

“The Punjab Police team had reached Toronto airport from Vancouver. It was given custody of the accused earlier. Now, the team will stay put and wait for the outcome of the Canadian court order,” AS Rai, IG Patiala Zone, said, The New Indian Express reported.

Following the extradition judgment of Canadian Supreme Court earlier this month, a team of Punjab Police comprising three members reached Canada on Sept. 17, and cleared all the decks for the extradition of the accused.

“Yes, they were granted stay. We don’t know the grounds yet,” Kanwardeep Kaur, the Patiala SP who is heading the team, said, the publication reported.

During her visit to India in 2000, Jassi was killed for marrying an Indian auto-rickshaw driver Sukhwinder Singh Sidhu. Her throat was slit and the body was dumped in a canal after Jassi and Mithu were attacked by a group of armed men in Punjab.