The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a public interest plea seeking direction to the central government to release Pakistani nationals languishing in Indian jails even after having completed their sentences, getting acquitted, or against whom no case has been made out.

A bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Rajesh Bindal refused to hear the PIL by advocate Nitin Mattoo, stating that a similar petition is pending before the top court.

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The matter has been pending before the top court since 2005. A petition was filed by the late Prof Bhim Singh, the then President of the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party. Prof Bhim Singh passed away on May 31, 2022.

The public interest plea by advocate Nitin Mattoo said that Pakistani prisoners who have completed their sentences, been acquitted, or against whom no case has been made out, but are still in prison, should be released.

The petitioner advocate further sought direction to the central government to make available the list of Pakistani prisoners on the website of the Ministry of External Affairs.

Mattoo said he had filed an RTI application seeking information regarding Pakistani prisoners languishing in the jails of India, including undertrials and those whose sentences have been completed.

In its reply to the RTI application on April 23, 2024, the government said that 337 Pakistani nationals are languishing in Indian jails. Out of 337, 103 persons of Pakistani nationality have completed their sentences and are still languishing in jail, stated the PIL by Mattoo.

The petitioner, advocate Mattoo, stated that he approached the top court after unsuccessfully making a representation to the central government for the release of Pakistani prisoners who are being illegally incarcerated even after completing their sentences, being acquitted, or having no case made out against them.

Mattoo said that the intention behind the filing of the petition is to ensure that any prisoner who is illegally lodged in jails in India should be released immediately.

“The prisoners lodged in jails have completed their sentences but are still under incarceration, resulting in a loss to the exchequers of the states where they are imprisoned. Hence, the loss to the state exchequer is a direct injury to the public at large. Furthermore, not releasing the prisoners to their home country is an injustice to them, as per Article 21 A of the Constitution of India,” the PIL stated.