Priya Gour
Published on: 17th August, 2022 at 21:25 IST
The Supreme Court expressed its anger at the States of Nagaland and Maharashtra for failing to redress a POCSO convict’s request for a case transfer to his home town. The convict had requested for the case to be transferred from a Nagaland jail to his hometown at Nashik, for better access to his family and lawyers.
The bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Krishna Murari were hearing a petition where linguistic difficulties in communications were submitted for interaction with jail officials and lawyers in Nagaland.
“He probably only speaks in the local dialect of his district and must be having difficulty communicating with anyone there,” the bench quoted.
Justice Maheshwari quoted, “There is a complete disregard for human rights. Arrange a chartered plane if needed, but let him meet his family … What is the point of having so many seminars etc. on this if we do not implement human rights on the ground level?”
The petitioner (an army personnel) was alleged of sexual assault on a minor and, thereby, sentenced to five years by a court martial in Nagaland. He is currently lodged at the Kohima Central Jail. The petitioner, belonging to Maharashtra, has not been able to meet his kin for almost two years in the Nagaland prison.
So, he moved the top court after the failure of Maharashtra Home Department to act on his representation for months. Submissions were made before the court about the linguistic challenges being faced in communication with jail officials and lawyers in Nagaland jail, since the petitioner is versed only in his local dialect.
Therefore, a request for his transfer to a jail near his home district of Nashik, specifically Pune’s Yerwada has been made. This would enable him to exercise his rights towards legal representation, appeal, etc. in an efficient manner.
A reference was also made in the apex court verdict in Sunil Batra (II) vs. Delhi Administration. The Transfer of Prisoners Act was also quoted to emphasise the rights of visitation by family and counsel available to prisoners.
The petition read:
“(He)has not been able to meet his family members or any friends, owing to the restrictions first imposed by the custody, then by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and now since he is lodged at Kohima, Nagaland, which is at a distance of approximately 3000 Kms from his home town of Nashik, and which distance is not possible for his aged and ailing parents or any of the relatives residing and working in Maharashtra to travel to owing to financial impediments.”
The counsel for Maharashtra, Advocate Sachin Patil, informed the court that the transfer will be made at the earliest. The earlier condition of pending cases against the petitioner to allow transfer, has been removed.
Counsel for Nagaland, Advocate K Enatoli Sema, said that the request has been accepted and is under process.
Justice Maheshwari said:
“Sometimes we sound harsh. We cannot help it when these questions are raised.”
The Bench asked that the states to work out the modalities for the transfer by tomorrow.
As a result, the Court scheduled a hearing for tomorrow, after warning the two states that any further delay would incur a cost of Rs. 10 lakh per day.