Acquitted Pakistani Children Found Detained: Punjab & Haryana HC Takes Suo Moto Cognizance Of Prisoners Languishing In Jails Despite Acquittal

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today took suo moto cognizance of the issue of prisoners languishing in jails despite acquittal. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Nidhi Gupta while issuing notice to the Punjab Government, asked it to submit how many detainees are languishing in jails despite acquittal.

The development came after two juveniles from Pakistan languishing in Juvenile Homes submitted before Justice N.S. Shekhawat, who is also administrative judge of Faridkot Sessions Divisions that they are detained even after they are acquitted in April 2023 and their case for repatriation is pending before Department of Directorate of Social Security and Woman and Child Development, Punjab.

In 2022, two Pakistani citizens were booked under Section 3 of the Passport Act 1920 and Section 14 of the Foreigners Act 1946 in Punjab's Taran Taran for allegedly crossing the international border of India and Pakistan and have been confined in the Juvenile Observation home since then.

However, the Juvenile Board ruled that there was no fencing between one border pillar to another border pillar. "Chances of mistakenly entered into territory of India in foggy days, can also be not ruled out and it can also be not ruled out that due to non wiring or gate at the spot, juveniles...could not made out the difference of territory of two nations," it had observed while acquitting the duo.

The two juveniles wrote to Justice Shekhawat about their plight of being confined in the observation home despite acquittal in the trial, as their case for repatriation is pending.

Considering the submissions the matter was referred to the Acting Chief Justice for appropriate orders. 

AAG for Punjab, Sehajbir Singh Aulakh submitted that correspondence has already been made with the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the two juveniles.

The matter is now listed on February 26 for further consideration.

Title: Court on its own motion v. State of Punjab & Ors