His fight is for the rights of foreigners jailed in India, ‘terrorist or whatever’

Singh said any person, not just a citizen of India, can approach the Supreme Court for his fundamental rights. “I myself have been detained 54 times in my life and each time, I was released by the Supreme Court. So whenever anybody came to me and wherever I saw that a prisoner’s fundamental rights were being violated, I stood up for them,” he said. “It doesn’t matter whether a prisoner was a terrorist or whatever. The moment a prisoner has completed his sentence, he has to be released. Otherwise it is a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution. The government cannot put people under the Public Safety Act (in J&K) or the National Security Act indefinitely. They cannot turn it into a revolving door.”

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How did he start this campaign for prisoners’ rights? “When I was studying in England in 1969, I made a lot of friends from Pakistan. There were also a lot of people from PoK who met me. I have been in touch with them over the years,” Singh said. “After the Kargil war, lots of people were arrested along the border. I started receiving letters from Pakistan and PoK. I would receive letters requesting me to help locate their prisoners held in Indian jails. That is how this started.”

He said he began from J&K, where scores were held under provisions of the Public Safety Act. “I filed an RTI application asking how many people were in jail under PSA and how many among them were foreigners. Then I filed petitions in J&K High Court.” He initiated legal action in 1999. “The J&K government resisted,” he recalled. “In 2003, I became a member of the legislative council and I asked a question about PSA detainees in the state. This gave us a lot of information.”

Singh said he subsequently moved the Supreme Court under Article 32. On one of his petitions, filed in 2005, the SC observed that “the protection provided by Article 21 of the Constitution of India requires that foreign nationals who have served out their sentences are deported to their respective country… without any delay”.

After one intervention by the Supreme Court, the government came up with detailed policy guidelines for repatriation of Pakistani fishermen and prisoners and issued it to states and UT administrations on August 26, 2010. The guidelines were modified on February 1, 2012, and March 7, 2012.

On April 4, 2016, the government told the court that the “release and repatriation of Pakistani prisoners and fishermen lodged in Indian jails and detention centres is governed by provisions of the Agreement on Consular Access signed between India and Pakistan on May 21, 2008. The government of India has been providing comprehensive lists of Pakistani prisoners and fishermen lodged in jails/detention centres in India twice a year on January 1 and July 1”.

The government also provided the current status of 254 Pakistani prisoners and 17 Pakistani fishermen, with a breakup of how many had been repatriated or remained in jail. This included a list of 59 Pakistani prisoners who have completed their sentences but whose repatriation was held up because their nationality was yet to be confirmed.

“It is ironic that while the government calls them Pakistani nationals, they are also claiming their nationality is yet to be established. I raised this issue,’’ Singh said. “If you a take a look at this list of 59 prisoners, you will see how big a human tragedy it is. Four of them are identified as ‘Goonga’ and ‘Bhola’ while seven have been put in mental hospitals and one has been shifted to a detention centre from a mental hospital. Three mentally ill Pakistani prisoners died in jail.”

Singh said several states have set up detention centres for prisoners who have completed their sentences and are awaiting repatriation, J&K continue to keep them in jail.

Singh hasn’t been confining his legal struggle for the rights of foreign prisoners to just India. Two years ago, he travelled to Pakistan on the invitation of Lahore’s Lawyers Congress where he advocated free legal aid for Indians languishing in Pakistani prisons. “I fight for the rights of these prisoners to uphold our Constitution,’’ he said.