DELHI HC ORDERS JUDICIAL OFFICER TO EXAMINE DETENTION CENTRES LIVING CONDITIONS

13^th NOVEMBER

A bench consisting of Justice J.R. Midha And Justice Brijesh Sethi of Delhi High Court has ordered a judicial officer to visit a detention centre and scrutinize its alleged 'pathetic' living condition.

This court order was passed while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by a woman trying to get her husband released, who is suspected to be a Pakistani national, from the Sewa Sadan Deportation Centre Lampur Village in Delhi. The petitioner's counsel pointed out the miserable conditions in the detention centre where the detainees are not even provided with their basic human rights, including medical facilities and healthy food. The accused man was arrested on Dec 13, 2012, and faced trial for years. On Oct 10, 2016, a Trial Court sentenced him under the custody of Official Secrets Acts & others and penalized him for 9 years in jail.

The court said, "If the designated Judicial Officer finds any discrepancies in the detention centre, immediate action shall be taken by the authorities of the detention centre to remove the faults within a specified period, and the Judicial Officer shall again visit detention centre to check whether the faults have been eliminated or not. The report is to be submitted to the Court in a sealed cover before the next date of hearing."

Author: Shweta Singh