Told by the Supreme Court not to adopt tit-for-tat approach regarding release of prisoners, the Centre on Monday said three Pakistanis who had served their sentences would be handed over to Pakistani Rangers at Wagah border on March 25 without any matching gesture from Islamabad.
Commenting adversely on the Centre’s stand that Pakistan’s reluctance to reciprocate was holding up the release of 16 Pakistanis who had completed their prison term, a bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and R M Lodha on March 8 had said right to life had primacy in a country governed by rule of law and was not dependent on another country’s action. It had ordered release of the 16 Pakistanis immediately while refusing to accept the Centre’s stand that exchange of prisoners was a diplomatic process that required cooperation at both ends.
In a case identical to the one before Justice Katju’s bench, Centre informed a bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and H L Dattu about its decision to repatriate Murad Ali Ban, Mohammed Akram and Jafaria, all lodged at Central Jail, Jaipur, to Pakistan on March 25. The affidavit accompanying this information was interesting as it appeared to have taken a cue from Justice Katju’s March 8 observation. The Centre said: “Release and repatriation of Pakistani nationals who have completed their sentence is not being linked to the release and repatriation of Indian prisoners lodged in jails in Pakistan.”
However, it did not forget to remind the court about diplomatic procedure and wrangles involved in such issues. It said, “The release and repatriation of Indian and Pakistani prisoners is governed by a bilateral agreement signed by two countries on May 21, 2008. Earlier, it was being governed by a Protocol on Consular Access signed between India and Pakistan in 1982.” It added, “This agreement is an understanding between the governments, for it deals only with agreed modalities of consular access of certain kinds of Pakistani prisoners in India and Indian prisoners in Pakistan.”
Source:- The Times of India 23 March 2010 Delhi Page No. 14
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