CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has imposed total costs of Rs 50,000 on the joint secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as well that of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for not producing a key document on the repatriation of a convict from Sri Lanka to India and the modification of his jail term.
A division bench of justices Anitha Sumanth and Sunder Mohan passed the orders recently on a habeas corpus petition filed by Mohamed Sameer, who is the son of the convict, Zahir Hussain.
Hussain, a native of Ramanathapuram, was convicted by a Sri Lankan court for life on May 18, 2015, for offences pertaining to drug trafficking. He had sought repatriation to India as per the agreement between the two countries on transfer of sentenced prisoners, the bench noted in a recent order. Accordingly, the joint secretary of the MHA issued an order on July 20, 2016, for Hussain’s repatriation and reduced the quantum of punishment to ten years and a fine of Rs 10 lakh as per the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after taking into account the incarceration he had already undergone. His prison term will be up to September 21, 2022, the order stated.
Hussain, however, is currently lodged at the Central Prison, Puzhal.The bench noted that the modification of sentence is not in line with Section 21 of the NDPS Act. If the term were to end on September 21, 2022, he would have served only seven years but the actual reduction is for ten years.
Stating that the reduction of sentence was not done as per the provisions of the agreement and by obtaining consent of the transferring country, the bench said the counsel for the central officials was unable to produce the exchange of communication making reference to the 2016 repatriation and the reduction of sentence order. “In the absence of which, we are not in a position to even infer that the Sri Lankan government has accepted or even been informed about the adoption of the sentence of the Sri Lankan court to Indian law,” the bench said.
The joint secretaries of the MHA and the MEA are put to terms and shall remit Rs 50,000 to the High Court Legal Services Committee within four weeks, the bench added.