Coronavirus: SC orders release of detainees lodged for 2 years in Assam detention centres

Relaxing its earlier conditions in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Supreme Court Monday directed the release of those detainees who were declared foreigners and have been lodged in the detention centres of Assam for two years or more.

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices L N Rao and M Shantanagoudar, referring to the top court's May 10, 2019 order, also lowered the personal bond amount from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5,000 while reducing the minimum period of detention from three years to two years.

The top court had imposed certain conditions while directing the release of such detainees including that they should have spent more than three years in detention, and were to be released upon furnishing a bond of Rs 1 lakh along with two sureties.

The order on Monday came on intervention application filed by Justice for Liberty Initiative, a Assam based Public Charitable Trust, seeking the release of detainees lodged in six Assam detention centres in view of coronavirus pandemic.

During the hearing, Attorney General K K Venugopal objected to their release apprehending that they would infect people in villages or where ever they go after their release.

Advocate Shoeb Alam, appearing for the applicant, informed the court that the apprehension of the Attorney General was based on an unfounded premise that every such person was already infected by the virus.

The bench observed that the very purpose of framing of guidelines and the release of persons was to prevent these prisons and detention centres from becoming a hotspot of infection.

Alam also contended that the two-year period be dispensed with or further reduced on account of unprecedented pandemic situation.

The bench observed however that at this stage it would release only those who have spent two years or more in the detention and for further reduction it would consider later.

Referring to the orders of the apex court passed on March 16, the plea filed through advocate Talha Abdul Rahman, said that the court has in the present matter already taken a bold and decisive step towards ensuring that prisons do not become breeding grounds of COVID-19 and has ordered a high powered committee to come up with modalities of releasing prisoners on parole.

“That in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, there are about 802 detenues in detention centres in Assam who are now more vulnerable in the already overcrowded detention centres with deplorable living conditions, and with no parole being made available to them,” the plea said.