Shillong: The Meghalaya High Court shot down a state plan to use a new prison in Nongstoin as a holding center for foreigners. Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh ruled the building is a prison, not a detention site. It has high walls and security meant for convicts. Labeling it otherwise is “nothing but an eyewash” according to the court. Judges noted that moving detainees there would just shift inmates from one jail to another.
Detention centers need specific facilities for people awaiting deportation. They are not meant to be prisons. Multiple citizens from Myanmar and Bangladesh currently sit in jail long after finishing their sentences. Officials deported two Bangladeshi nationals on September 10 after they spent two months too long in Nongpoh Jail. The court demanded that authorities coordinate with the Bangladesh High Commission to clear out these cases immediately.
The bench ordered a high-level meeting for September 21 at 2 pm. Shillong Superintendent of Police and Foreigners Registration Officer Vivek Syiem must show up in person. FRRO Kolkata Nidhi Rani and the Commissioner and Secretary of Home must join via video call. The government also faces questions about paying compensation for illegal detention cases where people overstayed by four or ten years.
The state has until September 21 to find a proper holding site that follows Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines. Delaying the release of those who served their time will lead to court-ordered payouts for every extra day spent in custody.
Comments