New Delhi:
The government today came in for severe criticism from the Supreme Court for keeping the foreign nationals, especially Pakistanis, in jail even after completion of sentence. The court termed it as "infraction of human rights of the worst order."
"There is total inaction and laxity on the part of the government. We are more concerned about the liberty of the persons who continue to be in jails despite serving their sentences," said a bench of justices R M Lodha and H L Gokhale while observing that some prisoners had been kept in detention even without having any case registered against them.
"Please show us the procedure under which you have detained and kept them for prolonged incarceration. We are more concerned with the question of substantial justice which should prevail over the procedures," the justices said.
Observing that "liberty is precious", the court told the government, "We don't want your bureaucrats to sleep over the files and go into slumber. We don't want clarifications from section officers, please give us comprehensive details as to whether there is any bilateral policy.
"Don't compel us to summon the presence of a senior officer for clarification," the bench said.
The government informed the court that 286 foreign prisoners, mostly from Pakistan, are in jail at present. Of these, the nationality of 46 persons are yet to be verified. The government also informed the court that a Pakistani delegation was in New Delhi for the verification process.
The Supreme Court has directed the government to deport five Pakistani prisoners, who have completed their sentence, within one month. Other foreign nationals in Indian jails are also to be deported to their countries within one month of their finishing their jail terms. The court also asked the government to submit a compliance report by the February 28.
The court said, "We disapprove the adhoc manner in which the whole exercise is done by the Government of India concerning the foreign nationals who have served out their sentence."
The court wanted to know details of those who had completed their sentence and why those inmates were still in jail. The government has also been asked for details of the verification process being carried out by Pakistan and other countries, and how long that would take.
The court also observed that an "agreement between India and Pak for counsellor access to their inmates has not been followed which has resulted in gross delay."
The Supreme Court made these observations while dealing with two separate public interest litigations (PILs) relating to alleged prolonged incarceration of Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals in Indian jails.
(With PTI Inputs)
"There is total inaction and laxity on the part of the government. We are more concerned about the liberty of the persons who continue to be in jails despite serving their sentences," said a bench of justices R M Lodha and H L Gokhale while observing that some prisoners had been kept in detention even without having any case registered against them.
"Please show us the procedure under which you have detained and kept them for prolonged incarceration. We are more concerned with the question of substantial justice which should prevail over the procedures," the justices said.
Observing that "liberty is precious", the court told the government, "We don't want your bureaucrats to sleep over the files and go into slumber. We don't want clarifications from section officers, please give us comprehensive details as to whether there is any bilateral policy.
"Don't compel us to summon the presence of a senior officer for clarification," the bench said.
The government informed the court that 286 foreign prisoners, mostly from Pakistan, are in jail at present. Of these, the nationality of 46 persons are yet to be verified. The government also informed the court that a Pakistani delegation was in New Delhi for the verification process.
The Supreme Court has directed the government to deport five Pakistani prisoners, who have completed their sentence, within one month. Other foreign nationals in Indian jails are also to be deported to their countries within one month of their finishing their jail terms. The court also asked the government to submit a compliance report by the February 28.
The court said, "We disapprove the adhoc manner in which the whole exercise is done by the Government of India concerning the foreign nationals who have served out their sentence."
The court wanted to know details of those who had completed their sentence and why those inmates were still in jail. The government has also been asked for details of the verification process being carried out by Pakistan and other countries, and how long that would take.
The court also observed that an "agreement between India and Pak for counsellor access to their inmates has not been followed which has resulted in gross delay."
The Supreme Court made these observations while dealing with two separate public interest litigations (PILs) relating to alleged prolonged incarceration of Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals in Indian jails.
(With PTI Inputs)
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