Gauhati High Court on Wednesday stated that jails in Assam cannot be used as a permanent detention centres for housing illegal foreigners.
The court also directed the state government to look for separate accommodation for the purpose. The court issued a notice to Assam government to submit a report within 10 days on the steps taken to set up detention centres outside jail premises.
In March, the centre had informed the Lok Sabha that as many as 3,331 people have been lodged at the six detention centres in Assam, while another such facility at Matia, Goalpara with a capacity to put 3,000 people is under construction in the state.
Assam has six detention centres housed inside prisons, all people convicted under foreigner’s tribunal in Assam are kept. These jails are in Dibrugarh (680 people), Goalpara (370), Silchar (479), Jorhat (670), Kokrajhar (335) and Tezpur (797).
According to reports, till now 30 people have died in detention centres of Assam.
Justice Achintya Malla Bujor Barua while hearing a batch of petitions stated; “It is noted that even the model manual for the detention centres provides that the detention centres shall be set-up outside jail premises. If suitable accommodations are not available, the State Government may look for hiring of private buildings for the purpose.”
As of today, Assam government is yet to make the dedicated detention Centre that has come up in Matia in Goalpara functional.
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