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NEW DELHI, Aug 19: India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to Attorney General Soli Sorabjee asking him to explain why 11 Pakistani nationals have been detained in Indian jails for over a decade, officials and diplomats said.
Pakistani diplomats said they had asked the Indian foreign ministry to allow them consular access to the prisoners who include several minors.
The prisoners, three of whom are reportedly from Azad Kashmir, have been detained under the Public Security Act in Jammu and Kashmir and the Supreme Court is keen to know which provision of law permits such a prolonged detention.
Amnesty International has frequently slammed the use of the law to imprison even peaceful critics of the government in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a separate proceeding on Tuesday, another bench of the Supreme Court asked the federal government to give details of the steps taken by it for repatriation of five Pakistani nationals who were in Indian jails despite having served their sentences.
APP adds: A division bench comprising Justice M B Shah and Justice A R Lakshmanan passed an order after the IHK government gave details of eleven Pakistani nationals, lodged in various prisons following their detention under the State Public Safety Act.
The bench said: “Considering the peculiar situation of persons detained from 1993 onwards, some of whom are alleged to be residents of AJK and the statement made on July 22, 2001, by the Senior Superintendent of Police and the vague replies filed by the respondents, notice be issued to Attorney General to assist the court and to find out under which provision of law the petitioners are kept in prison”.
The bench, after hearing additional solicitor general Raju Ramachandran, state government counsel Anis Suhrawardy and Amicus Ranjana Narayan, said: “As most of these prisoners are under detention for more than ten years without trial, we have to take judicial notice under Article 21 guaranteeing the right to life.”
The court said it would not comment on those Pakistani prisoners who were facing trial, but wanted to know as to under which provision of law a person could be detailed for an indefinite period.
In another proceeding, a bench comprising Justice Ruma Pal and Justice P V Reddi had on Aug 13 asked the central government to furnish within a week details of the steps taken by it for repatriation of five Pakistani nationals, described as security prisoners, who were lodged in jails in India despite serving out their sentence.
The bench had also asked for all records pertaining to nine other Pakistan prisoners, lodged in Rajasthan jails despite completing their sentences, as it could not locate their names in the home ministry files.
