The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to a 55-year-old tribal man, taking serious exception to the Assam Police keeping him in custody for two years without filing a chargesheet.
Terming his prolonged incarceration as “wholly unjustified”, a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta pulled up the Assam Police for failing to file the chargesheet within the statutory period prescribed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
“For two years, you did not file the chargesheet, and the man has been in custody? This is, in fact, illegal custody. You consider yourself to be the premier investigating agency of the country?” the Bench remarked, addressing advocate Shubhojit Roy who appeared for the Assam Government.
Mr. Roy submitted that the accused, Tonlong Konyak, was a Myanmar national and had been found in possession of counterfeit Indian currency while crossing the border. He argued that Section 43D(7) of the UAPA imposes a statutory bar on granting bail to a person who is not an Indian citizen and has entered the country illegally, except in exceptional circumstances.
Dismissing such a contention, Justice Mehta observed, “Whatever be the stringent provisions under UAPA, the law does not provide for illegal custody. This is appalling.”
