B.C. pair accused in so-called 'honour killing' have extradition stayed

The B.C. pair accused of masterminding the murder of Jaswinder (Jassi) Sidhu will be allowed to stay in Canada for a little longer, after their extradition to India was stayed.

The surrender order for Malkit Sidhu and Surjit Badesha was put on hold Thursday after the B.C. Court of Appeal accepted the filing of an application for judicial review, according to a spokesperson for the federal Ministry of Justice.

The spokesperson wasn't able to provide any information about the contents of the application, but Sidhu and Badesha will remain in the country pending a hearing on the matter.

The news represents just the latest bump in a long legal road to see the pair tried in India for conspiracy to commit the murder of 25-year-old Jassi Sidhu in 2000. Malkit Sidhu was the victim's mother, and Badesha was her uncle.

Jassi Sidhu was allegedly killed for marrying a poor Indian rickshaw driver. Her throat was slit and her body was dumped in a canal after the couple was attacked by a group of armed men in Punjab.

The Indian government believes she was the victim of an "honour killing" planned by her mother and uncle and in 2014, the B.C. Supreme Court ordered the pair to be sent to India.

But Sidhu and Badesha argued that they may not receive a fair trial in India, and the B.C. Court of Appeal set aside the order to surrender the pair in a split ruling last year.

Then, earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the two accused relatives should be sent to India to face justice.

Seven men were convicted in India in connection with Jassi Sidhu's murder, but several of those convictions have since been overturned.