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Jharkhand High Court Questions Woman’s Continued Detention
A woman from Jamtara was sent to prison in 2018 and finished her sentence in 2020.
Instead of going home, she was kept in a centre because officials thought she was from Bangladesh.
A court later said there was not enough verified evidence to prove she was a foreign national.
In 2025, she and two other people escaped, but they were caught the next day.
The woman was convicted for escaping, but the court again cleared her of the charge under the Foreigners Act.
After her sentence for escaping ended, she was sent back to the centre.
Her lawyer says a police constable assaulted her.
The Jharkhand High Court is asking what law allows her to remain there and has ordered officials to investigate.
The Jamtara woman completed a two-year sentence for a child-kidnapping case on February 4, 2020, but was transferred to a foreigners’ holding centre in Hazaribag.
Authorities treated her as Bangladeshi, but a trial court later found nationality evidence insufficient and acquitted her of a Foreigners Act charge.
After escaping with two other detainees in June 2025, she was convicted of escaping custody and returned to the detention centre after completing that sentence.
On October 1, the Jharkhand High Court questioned the legal authority for her continued detention and ordered further inquiries.
Her lawyer alleges a constable sexually assaulted her multiple times; the court directed the Hazaribag SP to investigate and asked the Home Secretary to appear on October 5.
- Who
- A woman from Jamtara; the Jharkhand High Court is examining her continued detention.
- What
- The High Court questioned the legal authority for keeping her at a foreigners’ holding centre after her prison sentence was completed.
- Where
- The Foreigners’ Holding Centre at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Central Jail campus in Hazaribag, Jharkhand.
- When
- The High Court raised the question on October 1; the woman was first transferred to the centre on February 4, 2020.
- Why
- Authorities treated her as a Bangladeshi national, but a trial court acquitted her of the Foreigners Act charge after finding nationality evidence insufficient.
Court findings and concerns
Authorities’ stated position
Basis for continued detention
Court findings and concerns
The High Court questioned under what authority of law the woman remained detained; the trial court found no authenticated cross-border records or validated nationality material establishing foreign status.
Authorities’ stated position
Authorities had treated the woman as a Bangladeshi national and kept her at the foreigners’ holding centre; the article does not report a specific legal justification offered to the High Court.
Alleged assault
Court findings and concerns
Her lawyer says the woman reported being sexually assaulted multiple times by a constable.
Authorities’ stated position
The Hazaribag SP told the High Court that an inquiry would be initiated; the allegation had not been reported as independently established.
Key facts
- Initial arrest
- February 2, 2018, in connection with an alleged child kidnapping
- First sentence
- Two years’ rigorous imprisonment under IPC Section 363
- Transfer to holding centre
- February 4, 2020, after completion of her sentence
- Escape
- June 10, 2025; she and two other detainees were apprehended the next day at Dhanbad railway station
- Trial court ruling
- On July 20, she was convicted of escaping custody under BNS Section 262 read with Section 3(5), and acquitted of the Foreigners Act charge
- High Court directions
- The court sought an SP inquiry, directed the District Legal Services Authority to record her statement, and asked the Inspector General of Prisons to participate
- Next appearance
- Jharkhand’s Home Secretary was directed to appear before the High Court on October 5
Quotes
Jharkhand High Court
The High Court, in its October 1 judgment on the woman’s detention.
“We are living in the era of Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the inherent liberty conferred upon a human being cannot be taken away without any authority of law.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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