Are there guidelines to ensure equal rights to foreign nationals in prisons, Madras HC asks Union Home Ministry

The Madras High Court on Monday (January 20, 2025) wanted to know from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs whether there were guidelines in place for police and prison officials to ensure that foreign nationals arrested in connection with criminal cases were extended all the rights that other prisoners were entitled to.

A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and M. Jothiraman suo motu included the Home Ministry as one of the respondents to a writ petition filed by a Nigerian national, Egwim Kingstley, against State government officials, alleging ill-treatment of inmates at the central prison in Puzhal near Chennai.

The petitioner, booked by the Narcotics Control Bureau in a drug smuggling case in 2021, had sought a direction to the Home Secretary, Deputy Inspector General of Prisons, and the Superintendent of Puzhal central prison to conduct an inquiry regarding the alleged ill-treatment meted out to him.

He had also sought a direction to the officials to remove his co-prisoners from solitary confinement and to give proper medical treatment, food, and telephone facilities to the inmates. During the course of hearing of the case, Justice Subramaniam wanted to know how the police dealt with foreign nationals in prisons.

Stating it was mandatory for the police to intimate the family members of every person arrested in connection with a criminal case so that necessary legal assistance could be provided to the arrestee, the judges wanted to know how the kin of foreigners were being informed.

“Even if you may not be able to contact the family members directly, it could be done through the embassies or consulates of those countries here. Is this being done in case of foreign prisoners?” Justice Subramaniam asked Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) R. Muniyapparaj representing the State government officials.

When the APP said, the Union Home Ministry would be the right entity to answer the question, the judges included the Ministry as one of the parties to the case and sought a response to their queries by next week.

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