The High Court of Delhi has directed the Principal Secretary of the Social Welfare Department of the Delhi Govt to take immediate remedial steps to address the pathetic conditions in the detention centre at Lampur.
A Division Bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul & Anup Jairam Bhambhani directed the Principal Secretary to take immediate remedial steps to address the pathetic conditions that exist in the centre regarding cleanliness, hygiene & medical facilities & the other infirmities mentioned in the report.
The Court asked the Delhi Govt to file a detailed status report before the next date of hearing & said that the report shall include photographs & videography of the centre as it exists currently as well as subsequent to the remedial steps taken by the concerned Department.
Thereafter, the matter was listed on Feb 18 for further hearing.
The Court direction came on a report filed by a Sessions Judge of Central District of Tis Hazari Courts Complex after inspecting the detention centre.
On Nov 9, 2020, the Court had directed the Principal District & Sessions Judge (HQ) to depute a Judicial Officer to visit the detention centre at Lampur which functions under the aegis of the Social Welfare Department of the Govt of Delhi & carry out an inspection of the conditions prevailing at the said detention cent.
They were also asked to submit a report to this court on their behalf.
The bench order came while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by a woman, seeking the release of her husband, who is alleged to be a Pakistani national, from the Sewa Sadan Deportation Centre Lampur Village Delhi.
Counsel for the petitioner, advocate Ajay Verma, assisted by lawyer Mehak Nakra, pointed towards the pitiable conditions prevailing in the detention centre where the detainees are deprived of basic human rights, including medical facilities.
The advocates had submitted that the petitioner has been detained in the centre & he has been informed by the petitioner that the condition of the detention centre is very pathetic for want of cleanliness & hygiene.
They said, “No medical facilities are being provided at the detention centre; the detainees are not permitted to communicate with the family & their lawyer, & no legal aid is provided to them”.
The petitioner’s husband was arrested on Dec 13, 2012, & has been facing trial for years. On Oct 10 2016, a trial court convicted him under charges of the Official Secrets Acts & others & sentenced him to 9 years in jail.
The High Court upheld his conviction under the Official Secrets Acts. After completing his sentence, on April 14, 2020, he was released from jail but sent to Sewa Sadan Deportation Centre Lampur Village in Delhi for the purpose of deportation. His wife challenged his deportation in the Delhi HC and sought his release.
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