New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has been pushing for early extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya but only one fugitive out of 29 has been extradited by the UK since India and Britain signed an extradition treaty in 1992, sources said on Wednesday.

Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel, who was wanted in a case related to the 2002 Gujarat riots, was extradited from the UK in October 2016.

Unlike Mallya, Patel had submitted to the extradition order without a legal challenge.

A UK court has fixed September 12 as the final date for closing arguments in the Mallya case.

The sources said the legal system in the UK was the biggest hurdle, pointing out that laws on human rights were very strict and that courts in that country often refuse extradition requests where a person is likely to face torture in jails if sent back.

Courts also refuse extradition if they consider that the accused person is being persecuted for political reasons in his or her country.

"The list of 28 fugitives is still pending with the UK since 2002. Extradition from Britain is very challenging and an arduous process because of tough UK laws. We are keeping our fingers crossed and hope Mallya's case does not meet the same fate," a Union home ministry official said.

Inhuman conditions in Indian jails have often been cited by fugitives, including Mallya, in foreign courts to build their case against extradition.

Prominent fugitives who figure on the list of 28 include Lalit Modi, the former IPL czar; Ravi Shankaran, an accused in the Indian Navy war room leak case; Tiger Hanif, an accused in the 1993 Gujarat blast case, and Nadeem Saifi, wanted in the Gulshan Kumar murder case, apart from several individuals related to the Khalistan movement.

India has also been demanding the extradition of UK national Raymond Varley to face trial for alleged child abuse in Goa. In 2007, India had extradited Maninder Pal Singh Kohli who was convicted of killing a teenager, Hannah Foster, in Southampton in 2003 and had later fled to India.