KOLLAM: The Kerala High Court has granted interim bail to Sri Lankan nationals accused of attempting to illegally migrate to Canada by boat from Kollam. The High Court also ordered the trial court to complete the case proceedings in three months on receiving the investigation team's final report.
Five of the Sri Lankan nationals, including a five-month pregnant woman, a 14-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy with serious health issues and his parents, will be housed at the Gandhi Bhavan Trust's Pathanapuram centre. The remaining refugees will be housed at the Open Prison and Correctional Home at Attukulangara, Thiruvananthapuram, until the government arranges another shelter for such refugees. The High Court order stated that they are not staying there as prisoners, but only as a temporary arrangement until further orders are issued in this regard. "Superintendent of the Open Prison and Correctional Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, shall see that all basic amenities, including food and medical facilities, are provided to the petitioners without fail," the order said.
The Kollam police had detained 32 Sri Lankan nationals, including two minors and a pregnant woman, on September 6. All were charged under Sections 14A, 14a(b), 14B, and 14C of the Forgeries Act of 1946. However, the authorities later dropped the charges slapped on the minors. The four-year-old boy was later sent along with his mother to the correctional home in Attukulangara, Thiruvananthapuram. The 14-year-old girl and the pregnant woman were sent under the custody of the child welfare committee.
In the bail petition, Parvathy Menon, a lawyer representing the Kerala State Legal Service Authority's Victim's Rights Centre which was also impleaded as a respondent in this case, said the four-year-old boy required constant medical attention.
The Victim Rights Centre -- a project run by KELSA -- provides free legal support to women, transgender persons and their families.
The plea said the Gandhi Bhavan International Trust in Pathanapuram, Kollam, can accommodate the boy and his parents, the minor girl, and pregnant woman. The court ordered the Director of Health Services and Kollam District Medical Officer to provide necessary medical facilities to the four-year-old boy who is suffering from kernicterus, and the pregnant woman.
"Earlier, it was learnt that the boy was suffering from autism, but the child's medical situation is much more critical and requires constant medical attention," Parvathy Menon told TNIE over the phone.
Welcoming the High Court decision, she said: "We have received the interim order, not the final order. The police are currently investigating the matter and once the probe team's final report is submitted, we will be able to proceed."
Meanwhile, defence counsel Rahul V I, who represented the Sri Lankan refugees from the session court to the High Court, told the TNIE that it had been a difficult journey, but a satisfying one. "The matter is still being investigated, and for the time being, we are all relieved that Sri Lankan refugees will receive the necessary treatment," he said.