India downgrades ties with Denmark over Kim Davy
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India has decided to scale down its diplomatic ties with Denmark after that country's refusal to appeal in their Supreme Court against a decision of its lower court rejecting the extradition of Purulia arms drop case accused Kim Davy.
Upset over Copenhagen's refusal to act on New Delhi's consistent request to appeal in their apex court to facilitate Davy's extradition to India, government has issued a circular directed all senior officials not to meet or entertain any Danish diplomat posted in India.
"It is against all civilised norms to harbour a terrorist. Despite being a signatory to many UN conventions, Denmark refused to act against the prime accused in the Purulia arms drop case," a senior government official said.
Denmark even did not pay any heed to a special request of external affairs minister S.M. Krishna who wrote to his Danish counterpart requesting to appeal in their Supreme Court against the lower court order rejecting Davy's extradition.
India has failed to understand the reason behind the stubborn attitude of Denmark despite its promise to put Davy in a special jail if extradited.
Earlier, Copenhagen cited poor living conditions in Indian jails for their reluctance to extradite Davy to India.
"It smacks of racism," the official said.
Interestingly, citing Denmark laws, three law firms, hired by India to pursue its case against Davy, have suggested that there are enough provisions to appeal in the Supreme Court against the lower court order.
The Danish authorities have so far not agreed to appeal in the Supreme Court against the decision of the High Court despite efforts by Indian agencies to convince them, official sources said.
They said the authorities conveyed that the prosecutor is not under the control of Danish government and his decision is considered final.
Initially, Denmark had accepted India's request for extraditing Davy but it was challenged by him in a city court in Copenhagen which rejected the extradition.
The Danish authorities challenged the decision in the High Court which also rejected their plea citing poor prison conditions, including overcrowding, alleged torture and human rights record of India.
The Danish legal authorities then decided not to pursue the matter further and refused to file an appeal in the Supreme Court there against the High Court decision.
Sources said Indian authorities are not a party to the case and cannot directly intervene. They said the courts were not considering the merits of the alleged crime but on the prison conditions and human rights issues in India.
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