Supreme Court asks Centre to file status report on foreign prisoners including Pakistani nationals

The Supreme Court (SC) has asked the Centre to file a status report "positively", on the prisoners languishing in Indian jails including Pakistani nationals. 

The SC expressed serious concern over the prolonged imprisonment of foreign prisoners and had asked for the release and repatriate 61 Pakistani nationals who have served sentences for various offenses. 

The bench comprising of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan has given four weeks time to the government to apprise it of the current status of foreign nationals in jail.   

The last status report filed by the Centre was in April 2016. 

The principal petitioner in the case, senior advocate Bhim Singh has told the SC that there were 82 Pakistani prisoners in Jammu and Kashmir back in 2005. 

So that the prisoners from foreign countries do not lag in Indian jails, the apex court has asked the Centre to bring in a suitable mechanism. 

(With PTI inputs)