There had been several instances of economic offenders fleeing the Jurisdiction of Indian courts anticipating the commencement of criminal proceedings or sometimes during the pendency of such proceedings. The absence of such offenders from Indian courts had several deleterious consequences. such as, it obstructed investigation in criminal cases. it wasted precious time of courts and it undermined the rule of law in lndia. Further, most of such cases of economic offences involved non—repayment of bank loans thereby worsening the financial health of the banking sector in India, it was felt that the existing civil and criminal provisions in law were inadequate to deal with the severity of the problem.
 
 ln order to address the said problem and lay down measures to deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by remaining outside theiurisdiction of lndian courts, the Government proposed to enact a legislation, namely, the Fugitive Economic offender is Bill, 2018 to ensure that fugitive economic offenders return to India to face the action in accordance with law.
 
 Broad outline of legislative proposals Bill:
 # The definition of the fugitive economic offender has been provided to mean as an individual who has committed a scheduled offence or offences involving an amount of one hundred ciore rupees or more and has absconded from India or refused to come back to India to avoid or face criminal prosecution in India.
 # Provision has been made for attachment of the property of a fugitive economic offender and proceeds of crime.
 # The powers ol Director relating to survey. search and seizure and search of persons have been provided for.
 # Provision has also been made for confiscation of the properly of a fugitive economic offender and proceeds of crime.
 # It has been provided for disentitlement of the fugitive economic offender from putting toward or defending any civil clairn.
 # There is provision for appointment of an Administrator for the purposes of the proposed legislation.
 
 Enumeration of main provisions of the Bill:
 Chapter 11 of the Bill pertains to declaration of fugitive economic: offenders and confiscation of property. Detailed provisions have been made in regard to application for declaration of fugitive economic offender and procedure therefor;
 
 attachment of property; powers of Director and other officers; power of survey and search and seizure and search of persons. Provisions have also been made for service of notice. procedure for hearing application. declaration of fugitive economic offender. supplementary application; power to disallow civil claims and management of properties confiscated under the legislation.
 
 In Chapter 111 of the legislation, provisions have been made in regard to rules of evidence; appeal: bar ofiurisdiction. protection of action taken in good faith: power of the Central Government to amend schedule to the legislation; power to make rules; laying of rules before Parliament etc.
 
 Debate
 There were detailed deliberations on the clauses o the Bill in both Houses of Parliament. The Minister in—charge of the Bill in his reply to the debates in Parliament inter alia stated as follows: The Minister at the outset thanked all the Members for expressing their concerns that stringent actions should be taken in this matter and all these fugitive offenders should be brought back to the country and their properties be confiscated. it should also be ensured that the money involved in such offences should be brought back to the exchequer of the country at the earliest. It is very natural that certain stringent law is required to carry out all these things.
 
 The Minister further stated the objective behind bringing in the Bill was that the first of all action should be taken against big offenders without clogging the courts and tribunals. The Governments view was that first of all the persons perpetrating the offence involving the value of Rs. 100 crore and more should be brought to book. That would serve as a deterrent. This would ensure that no one will run away and those who have already run away perhaps will come back after having seen the properties being confiscated and will face the consequences of the law. Referring to questions raised by some Members about the ceiling of Rs. 100 crore, the Minister clarified that the intention of the Government was very clear. that big offenders should be caught first and action be taken against them as soon as possible. An effort was being made under the new system to ensure that no big offenders go scotfree. All such have been brought in the ambit of this law in order to put them on fast track trial. In regard to questions raised by Members about the provision of search and seizure, the Minister stated this provision has been taken from the Money Laundering Act, 2002. The provision of two or more than two witnesses had been made for search and seizure in the Section 9(e) of the Bill. As far as the disposal of the confiscated properties was concerned, the Minister clarified that Section i5(3) especially provides for the manners in which the properties confiscated or attached will be disposed of. An administrator would be appointed for this purpose which will manage the property under the directions of the court. A special court would be constituted to focus on big cases.
 
 The Minister also stated that by going through the clause 3 of the Bill it could be understood how the Government is going to clamp down on the offenders by bringing the prospective law. The clause 3 of the Bill clearly provides that the provisions of the Act shall apply to any individual who is or becomes a fugitive offender. As regards the question raised as to how the order of Indian court will be effective on the foreign land, the Minister stated that Government ot India signs treaties with foreign Governments and through these treaties they would execute such orders. India had already signed such treaties with 39 countries and would continue to sign such treaties with other countries. At the same time. the Minister assured the Members that there will be no denial to human rights as there is unshakable faith in courts and tribunals of the country. The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on i9 July QOi 8 and by Paiya Sabha on 25 July 2018. The Bill as passed by hntir Houses ot Parliament was assented to bv the President of lrrdia on 31 July 2018.