Shillong: The Meghalaya High Court has cracked down on the illegal detention of foreign nationals still locked up after their sentences expired. Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice W. Diengdoh slammed the state for holding prisoners well past their release dates. The court highlighted one specific Bangladeshi man who spent a full year in jail after finishing a six-month sentence. The bench made its position clear. "Detaining the Bangladeshi national beyond his sentence period amounts to illegal detention," the judges stated.
Authorities blamed the delay on waiting for nationality verification from the Bangladesh Assistant High Commissioner. The court rejected this excuse entirely. It ordered that prisoners must be moved to holding centres or deported, rather than left to languish in jail while paperwork crawls. The court warned that it could order financial compensation for those held past their time.
During a September 10 hearing, the government finally moved. State officials pledged to identify specific detention centres for these foreign prisoners within one week. The Additional Advocate General revealed a list of 28 foreign nationals currently stuck in Meghalaya jails despite having completed their time. Senior officials, including Home Commissioner Rosetta Mary Kurbah and Inspector General of Prisons Zenithsky Sangma, appeared in court to face the heat. The bench issued a notice to the IG of Prisons regarding potential contempt, though counsel for the official sought time to file an explanation.
The court directed the Meghalaya State Legal Services Authority to help with repatriation, especially for those with spouses or children in India. Meanwhile, the judiciary is also pushing the state on internal welfare. The government confirmed that 236 new court posts are now created. They also promised to deposit a Rs 50-lakh medical corpus fund within a week. While the state works on increasing pay for law clerks and settling old travel allowance bills, the focus remains on the 28 prisoners. The court expects a full report on the detention centres by September 17.
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