On Monday, the Meghalaya High Court directed the state government to relocate approximately 30 foreign nationals who have completed their prison sentences but remain in custody. This transfer must occur by September 28 to a temporary detention center in Shillong. The court’s decision comes amid ongoing scrutiny regarding the extended detention of individuals after serving their sentences.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and justice W Diengdoh issued the direction on Monday while hearing a suo motu matter concerning foreign nationals who completed their sentences but remained in custody pending deportation or repatriation. The court was informed through a status report that the government notified the MBOSE Hostel at Laitumkhrah, Shillong, as a temporary detention centre on September 17 after an earlier proposal to use a building at Nongstoin was not accepted. The G+2 hostel has six dormitories and capacity for around 60 inmates.
Photographs of the facility were also placed before the court.
Following the court’s direction, the inspector general of prisons and Correctional Services instructed district jail authorities to initiate the transfer of foreign nationals who completed their sentences but remain in custody to the Shillong facility. The court was also informed about five foreign nationals who have remained in custody for more than five years. They include two nationals of Myanmar, two Nigerians and one Bangladeshi.
The proposed arrangements include 26 administrative and guarding personnel, eight security personnel and one platoon deployed at the entrance gate and watchtowers. The facility will also have a medical officer and three medical staff, 26 CCTV cameras, fire-safety equipment and office infrastructure.
The development follows earlier proceedings in which the high court questioned why details of foreign nationals continuing to remain in jails after completing their sentences had not been placed before it earlier.
