MHRC directs Central Jail Superintendent, complainant to appear
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 02 2023:
The Manipur Human Rights Commission has directed the Superintendent of Imphal Central Jail to hand over some Myanmar Nationals lodged in the jail to the State Home Department for keeping them in detention centre or deporting them to their country.
The direction was given by a bench of the Commission comprising Chairperson UB Saha and Member KK Singh on April 28 while hearing petitions filed by one Mya Myat Mon for releasing 5 Myanmar Nationals and their 5 minor children including four boys and one girl.
The Myanmar Nationals were arrested by the police and detained in judicial custody following an order of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Churachandpur.
Convicted under Section 14(C) of Foreigners Act, they were sentenced to undergo five months imprisonment with a fine of Rs 1,000 (one thousand) imposed on each one of them.
The minor children were kept in the jail with their mothers as there were none to look after them.
The complaint claimed that even after they have spent their time in jail for five months, they have not been released yet by the jail authority.
After hearing the case, the Commission on April 27, had issued a notice to the Superintendent of Imphal Central Jail to appear before it in person the next day.
In the Court of the Commission on April 28, the Superintendent of Imphal Central Jail, SK Bhadrika submitted that the foreign Nationals were in judicial custody even after completion of the period of their sentence.
He further submitted that he has not ascertained as to whether the convicted persons have deposited the imposed fine money or not.
He further submitted that the jail authority is ready to release them and it had sent a letter on February 2 to the Commissioner (Home), Government of Manipur for deportation of 35 Myanmar Nationals who are at present in the jail including the prisoners mentioned in the
complaint petitions.
After hearing the submissions of the Superintendent of Jail, the Commission noted that it was not clear whether the convicted prisoners had deposited the fine money or not.
The Commission observed that if fine money has been deposited then their detention in the Central jail is wholly illegal and violative of their human rights.
While the jail authority has taken up the matter with the Commissioner Home Govt of Manipur to deport them to Myanmar, the Commission said it understands the difficulty of the jail authority that the Myanmar Nationals could not be released like other prisoners without informing the State Government or sending them to detention centre.
Notably, a newly constructed block of the Manipur Central Jail was declared as a detention centre for women foreign Nationals.
The Commission concluded that the jail authority should, after releasing them, hand them over to the Home Department, Government of Manipur for keeping them in the detention centre or deport them to their own country.
The Home Department shall take up the matter with the Union Government of India, so that the Centre can take up the matter with the Myanmar Government for their deportation.
At the time of deportation, if any, the Govt should provide them some money/articles for their immediate relief, ordered the Commission.
Meanwhile, hearing a bunch of other petitions filed by one Mya Myay Mon for release of Myanmar Nationals who are currently lodged in Imphal Central Jail, the Commission today issued notice to the Superintendent of the jail to submit a status report by tomorrow.
It also directed the Superintendent of the jail and the complainant to appear before the Commission at noon tomorrow before pressing the case.
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