The Kerala High Court directed the repatriation of two Sri Lankan citizens who had been detained in a Transit Home in India for more than two years following the arrest of their parents in cases investigated by the National Investigation Agency. The petitioners, the children of the accused, sought a declaration that their continued detention in the Transit Home was illegal and violated their fundamental rights. After their parents were taken into custody, the petitioners were also detained and placed in the Transit Home. During their stay in India, their visas expired, leaving them effectively unable to leave the country. The Court noted that an earlier order had been passed in 2022, while considering bail pleas of the parents, directing the State government to ensure that the petitioners remained in the Transit Home until further orders.
At the hearing of the petition, the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer submitted a statement affirming the previous arrangement and indicating that there was no objection to repatriating the petitioners if they were not required for any further investigation. The Deputy Solicitor General of India also informed the Court that there was no objection on behalf of the Union of India to the petitioners leaving the country, as they were neither wanted by any investigation agency nor needed for further inquiry in connection with the cases involving their parents. Based on these submissions, the Court determined that the petitioners ought to be permitted to leave India at the earliest opportunity. The judgment observed that continued detention of the petitioners in India, despite their visas having expired and despite no ongoing need for their presence in the country for investigative purposes, would amount to a deprivation of their rights to life and liberty.
The Court emphasised that the petitioners had been held in the Transit Home for an extended period without any legal basis for such continued detention beyond the orders already passed, and that no dispute existed from the respondents regarding their exit from India. Noting that no investigation agency sought to retain them for further inquiry, the Court held that they should be allowed to return to their home country without delay. The Court directed the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer to take necessary steps within two weeks to issue exit permits and any other travel documents required to facilitate their repatriation to Sri Lanka.
In allowing the petition, the Court underscored that the absence of objection from the respondents and the lack of any requirement for the petitioners in further investigation meant there was no justification for them to remain in India. The Court’s order required that administrative formalities be completed promptly to enable the petitioners to leave the country within the specified period. The petition was thus allowed, enabling the children to be repatriated to Sri Lanka following more than two years of detention in a Transit Home in India.
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