By IANS,
New Delhi : Expressing concern over the status and living conditions of foreigners, many of them Pakistanis, detained in camps for years, the Delhi High Court has asked the central government to explain why these people have not been deported to their own countries.
Counsel Arvind Nigam told a bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice Manmohan, that many foreign nationals have been languishing in Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) camps since 2006 and no effort has been made by the government to deport them back to their country.
“Some people have been there for 2-3 years without any detention order,” Nigam told the court. The exact number of people detained in these camps is not known.
Government counsel Zubeda Begum said some of the people have been detained for security reasons.
To this, the court said: “You (government) must detain the person with appropriate legal order.”
The court also asked the government counsel whether any exchange of detainees has taken place between India and Pakistan. The petition says that many of the foreign nationals in the camps are Pakistanis.
“Provide us with the figures as to how many such exchange of prisoners took place (between India and Pakistan). We just can’t turn a blind eye to the people who are suffering because of (lack of) diplomatic relations,” the bench said.
The court asked the government counsel to consult the union home secretary and file a detailed affidavit as to what is the present status of all the foreigners living in camps by the next date of hearing.
Last year, 11 detainees wrote a letter to the chief justice complaining about the poor standards of living in deportation camps. They said the camps faced perennial shortage of drinking water and quality of food served was also poor.
The court took the letter as a public interest litigation and initiated legal proceedings.