Allow Cookies!
By using our website, you agree to the use of cookies
On Thursday 20th September 20, 2018 the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and External Affairs were directed by the Supreme Court to jointly consider the deportation and release of a Nigerian national, who has been allegedly languishing in Dimapur District Sub Jail, Nagaland since 2016.
Nweze Raymond Chinenyeuba, a citizen of Nigeria, was taken into custody and booked under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act for remaining in India without proper travel documents. Chinenyeuba was taken into custody by the Nagaland Police on September 9, 2016 when he was found in Dimapur without a passport, which he claims got stolen during his stay in Tamil Nadu.
Chinenyeuba pleaded guilty in his trial before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dimapur. On May 25, 2016 he was sentenced for imprisonment for a period already foregone under custody stating the ratio decendi to be the clear record of the accused. Despite CJM ordering the District Magistrate and the Commissioner of Police, Chinenyeuba was not released from the prison. Even after completing his period of sentence, Chinenyeuba still remains in prison and has no access to legal aid.
Solomon Shaikh, a public spirited citizen, moved representation on the behalf of Chinenyeuba before the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and External Affairs and also moved a habeas corpus petition before the apex court stating that he has been illegally detained.
The petition filed through Advocates Abhishek Jebaraj, Abraham Mathews and NisheRajanShonker also pointed out as per the family customs of Chinenyeuba, the mortal remains of his mother, who died in June 2017 and his father, who passed away in October 2017, are still preserved in the state mortuary as Chinenyeuba, being the eldest son, could not go to Nigeria to perform the last rites. The petition also made extensive reference to Bhim Singh v Union of India, wherein it was held that failure to deport a foreign national after they have completed their sentence will amount to violation of their to right to life and liberty, to which even non-citizens are entitled, as per the order of the Supreme Court in National Human Rights Commission v State of Arunachal Pradesh.
The bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A M Khanwilkar, and Justice D Y Chandrachud, after considering the petition for admission, has ordered the Central Ministry to consider his representation within a period of four weeks.
86540
103860
630
114
59824