For how long can Sheikh Hasina, sentenced to death, stay in India?

New Delhi: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been staying in India(BHARAT) ever since she arrived on 5 August 2024, following a violent protest against her regime. Her stay in India(BHARAT) has caused diplomatic tensions between the two countries as Dhaka has sought her extradition several times.

Sheikh Hasina is living in New Delhi

It was reported that Sheikh Hasina has been living in a “safe house” in New Delhi’s Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone under an arrangement made for her by the Government of India(BHARAT), according to the information shared by ThePrint in October 2024. The 78-year-old ex-premier has been allotted a similar type of bungalow that is allotted to ministers, senior Members of Parliament (MPs), and top officials, said the report.

Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has demanded that India(BHARAT) return Sheikh Hasina, who is sentenced to death, to face judgment. The verdict was delivered on Monday, 17 November 2025, by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced Sheikh Hasina for her alleged role in last year’s violent crackdown on a nationwide student uprising.

What does India(BHARAT) say about her stay?

Amidst all these developments and the clamour from across the border, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday, 06 December 2025, said that former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s stay in India(BHARAT) is her personal decision influenced by the “circumstances” that led her to flee from her country and take refuge in India(BHARAT).

To a question whether Hasina was welcome to stay in India(BHARAT) for “as long as she wants,” Jaishankar, while speaking to NDTV’s CEO and Editor-In-Chief Rahul Kanwal at the HT Leadership Summit, said, “Well, that’s a different issue, isn’t it? She came here in a certain circumstance, and I think that circumstance clearly sort of is a factor in what happens to her. But again, that is something in which she has to make up her mind.”

Bangladesh seeks her return

Bangladesh’s interim government had, last month, sent an official letter to India(BHARAT) requesting the return of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The letter was sent to India(BHARAT) on Friday, November 21, through the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi. Bangladesh has already requested Sheikh Hasina’s extradition from India(BHARAT) three times. Previously, letters were sent on December 20 and 27, 2024, urging her extradition.