Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the release of a Pakistani man, who has been languishing in jail despite finishing his sentence.
The petitioner, holding a Pakistani passport, was convicted in 2019 and sentenced to three-year imprisonment under the Foreigners Act 1946 when his visa was found to have expired. The single bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya observed, “Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India are not restricted to Indian citizens but are available to any person on the soil of India...The petitioner having completed his sentence, cannot be retained any further in custody in any prison cell...”
The 47-year-old man had arrived in India in 2001 and had been living in Hooghly, with his Indian wife and their children. His counsel submitted his plea was to reintegrate into his family life.
The state counsel state submitted after his sentence, he was to be deported to Pakistan, being transported to Tihar Jail to be near Pakistani embassy. But he refused to accept his Pakistani citizenship, and so he was kept in custody. Ordering his release, the HC said the petitioner should remain in the territorial jurisdiction of Hooghly, and was free to proceed with his appeal and apply visa extension.