The New Indian Express ·
Meghalaya HC finds 17 foreigners jailed despite serving sentences
GUWAHATI: Seventeen foreign nationals are languishing in Meghalaya’s Shillong District Jail despite having completed their sentences. Fifteen of these jail inmates are from Bangladesh and one each from Myanmar and Nigeria.
The matter came to light during a Meghalaya High Court delegation’s visit to the jail.
The Myanmar national has been in jail for over 10 years despite completing his sentence. Similarly, a Bangladeshi national has spent more than four years in prison beyond his sentence. While the others have remained incarcerated for periods ranging from six months to a couple of years beyond their sentences.
Additional Advocate General Khalid Khan had informed the court on Tuesday “on instructions received by him vide letter dated 28th August, 2026” that only one Bangladeshi national continued to remain in prison for more than a year even after completing his sentence.
Later in the day, the court decided to visit the Shillong District Jail to see the condition of prisoners and verify whether they were receiving the requisite facilities along with legal aid.
During the visit, the court found the 17 foreigners who were in jail despite having served their entire sentence.
During a hearing on Wednesday, a division bench, comprising Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh, said the information provided to the court by the Additional Advocate General was “completely misleading and incorrect.”
The inspector general of prisons informed the court that there were no detention centres for persons who completed their sentence and that, until such time, they were either deported or appropriate steps were taken for their repatriation.
The High Court observed the Supreme Court, in several judgments, had noted that the detention of an accused even after completing the period of imprisonment was illegal and violated Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
“In fact, all these foreign nationals ought to have been moved to detention centres having completed their sentence as is required by law,” the court said in an order.
It further said the question of compensation would also be considered at an appropriate stage.