Section 24: Discharge of person apprehended if not surrendered or returned within two months

If a fugitive criminal who, in pursuance of this Act, has been committed to prison to await his surrender or return to any foreign State * * * is not conveyed out of India within two months after such committal, the High Court, upon application made to it by or on behalf of the fugitive criminal and upon proof that reasonable notice of the intention to make such application has been given to the Central Government, may order such prisoner to be discharged unless sufficient cause is shown to the contrary.

Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 15 October 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 24

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