The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the secretary of Assam State Legal Service Authority to file a fresh report based on a ground visit to the detention camps in Assam to ascertain the quality of life and services available. The top court after going through a status report flagged the sorry state of affairs noting that these detention centre's that housed declared foreigners lacked basic facilities like adequate water, food, sanitation system, and even proper toilets.
No Water, Toilets In Assam Detention Camps
The order came after the bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih went through the report placed in court by the Legal Service Authority in Assam. The counsel for petitioners raised the issue before the court saying that the report is prepared in such a way that it keeps saying "it is informed," when they must actually go to the detention camps and meet people.
The counsel informed the top court the detention centre in Assam's Matial has as many as 3000 people in it.
The top court then ordered a fresh report to verify the facilities mentioned in the report placed before it and to also check the quality and quantity of food served, cleanliness of the kitchen and medical facilities available.
Legal Aid And Deportation
The top court also asked the Centre to list out steps taken to enable deportation of declared foreigners in these camps. In a previous order dated May 16, the top court noted that there are 17 declared foreigners detained in the said Detention Centre/Transit Camp out of which 04 have already spent more than 02 years.
"We are of the view that the Union of India must take immediate steps for deporting these 17 declared foreigners as it is not the case that there are any offences registered in India against them. Priority should be given to deport 04 persons who have spent more than 02 years in the Detention Centre...A compliance affidavit shall be filed by an appropriate officer of the Union of India within a period of two months from today," the top court ordered.
The court was also informed that if any person from the these camps wanted to approach the High Court, no legal aid was being provided to them. The top court has sought Centre's repsonse to the same withing three weeks.