Woman approaches SC seeking release of her Rohingya sister from detention centre

New Delhi [India]: A woman has approached the Supreme Court seeking the release of her sister, a Rohingya refugee, from the Detention Centre at Shahzada Bagh to take care of her baby son.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and also comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra on Monday issued notice on the plea filed by the woman.
“Issue notice, returnable on 11 August 2023,” the court said.

The petitioner was represented by advocates Ujjaini Chatterji, Vanya Gupta and T. Mayura Priyan.

According to the petition, the petitioner’s younger sister is a Rohingya refugee who holds a UNHCR refugee identity card and has been indefinitely detained and kept at the detention centre called “Sewa Kendra in the northwest Delhi suburb of Shahzada Bagh.

The petitioner claimed that she has no criminal antecedents or complaints against her and was picked up around April 2021 through a clandestine and arbitrary “pick and choose” process, without being informed of the grounds of such detention and without the opportunity to present her case, show cause and defend herself.

“No official order authorising such detention was ever shared with the Petitioner or her sister. At that time her infant son was only a few months old and the Petitioner’s sister was a nursing mother,” the petitioner said.

“Presently, the Petitioner’s sister is in the detention centre, separated from her 3-year-old son, without access to her prescribed medicines, medical attention, warm and cold water, proper fans with poor ventilation and very limited exposure to sunlight,” read the petition.
The petition also mentioned her nutritionally inadequate and unhygienic diet in the detention centre.

Citing poor medical conditions, the petitioner said that she has been diagnosed positive with HCV and requires immediate and immense care and treatment without which she may even suffer liver cirrhosis which can even lead to death.

“Having been separated from her 3-year-old son and being made to live in complete isolation, the Petitioner’s sister has been medically tested unwell and is on the verge of a complete mental breakdown. She is being held under such inhuman and degrading conditions despite having absolutely no criminal charges against her,” the woman said.

She further added that her sister has a right to health, dignity and humane treatment in her detention and said, “Such arbitrary refusal of amenities, medicines and nutritious food not only puts her life at risk but also constitutes inhuman and degrading treatment that tantamounts to torture.”

Henceforth the woman has urged the top court to direct the Respondent Authority to release her sister from the Detention Centre at Shahzada Bagh in order to join her baby son.

She also sought direction for the assessment of dietary needs as per ICMR standards of the Petitioner’s sister and the provision of a nutritious diet to her.