Detention Camps in Assam: SC issues notice to the state government

The Supreme Court of India today issued notice to Assam Government on a plea seeking ‘release of persons from detention centers in the state who have completed more than 2 years to avoid spreading of #COVID19, as centers are overcrowded’.

The petition filed by Raju Bala Das pleas to release a detainee who completed a 2-year-term.The petition cites the risk of COVID-19 infection amidst the overcrowded situations in the detention centres in Assam.

The petition was heard by a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India SA Bobde via video conferencing. The case will be next heard on 13th April.

The petition also refers to the Court’s order dated 23.3.2020, wherein certain directions were passed vis-à-vis categories of prisoners who could be released on interim bail, upon determination by authorities, in an attempt to decongest jails. Attention is also drawn to the Court’s observations when it issued notice to all States and Union Territories in this case on March 16:

“Detention camp is an ideal breeding ground for the virus. Stepped- up cleanings and a temporary halt to visitations at detention camps in the midst of the crisis cannot make up for the fact that ventilation behind bars is often poor, inmates sleep in close quarters and share a small number of bathrooms. It creates the ideal environment for the transmission of contagious disease. Social distancing is clearly not possible in such environment. These camps are like ticking ‘time bombs’ ready to explode at any time. In absence of any quarantine facility inside those camps, detenees are at great risk in the event of its outbreak”, the application as quoted by Live Law Website.