[Coronavirus] Supreme Court issues notice in plea seeking release of those who have spent more than two years in Assam Detention Centres

The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Centre and the Assam government in a plea seeking the release of those who have spent more than two years at detention centres in the state..Notice was issued today by the Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, which heard the matter via video conferencing..Petitioner Raju Bala Das, who has himself completed two years in the detention centre, had submitted that overcrowding in detention centres of Assam needed to be addressed in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak across the country..In his plea, Das prayed that the Court allow people who have spent more than two years to be released as they were "living in unhygienic crowded condition in the detention centers with no possibility of deportation right now"..After the arguments were advanced, the CJI-led bench issued notice to the Centre and the Assam government..The matter has now been posted for April 13..Last month, Justice and Liberty Initiative, an Assam-based organisation which provides legal aid, had written to the Chief Justice of India to release “declared foreigners” from detention centres of Assam in the wake of Coronavirus outbreak..Direct release of "declared foreigners" lodged in Assam detention centres amid Coronavirus outbreak: Representation made to CJI SA Bobde.On the behalf of the organisation, human rights lawyer Aman Wadud had mailed a 12-page representation to the Chief Justice of India seeking the “immediate release all declared foreigners”. He also asked that “declared foreigners” not be detained or arrested until the situation returns to normal..In May 2019, the Supreme Court had ordered for conditional release of those who have spent more than three years in these detention centres..Assam Detention Centres: Illegal immigrants detained for over three years to be released, Supreme Court.Read Order