102-year-old Chandradhar Das (Right)

GUWAHATI: After spending almost three months in a detention camp, 102-year-old Chandradhar Das was released on bail by the Silchar-based foreigner's tribunal in Assam's Cachar district , and vacated its earlier ex parte order that declared him as a foreigner.

But Das has to appear before the tribunal and can contest his case by filing written statement, adducing evidence in support of his claim as Indian citizenship, Das' advocate Soumen Choudhury told TOI. July 4 has been fixed for submission of written statement.

The bail order for Das, who was afflicted with multiple old age ailments including difficulty in hearing and memory loss, was passed on Wednesday.

Moved by the "miserable condition" in which Das had to spend his days along with other detainees in the jail converted into a detention camp, the Barak valley-based Unconditional Citizenship Demand Forum (UCDF) earlier on Wednesday met Cachar deputy commissioner Lakshmanan S and raised the "inhuman" treatment meted out to Das at the "fag-end of his life."

"On the same day after we met the deputy commissioner Das was shifted to Silchar Medical College for treatment. That Das had to spend his days in detention camp even at his advanced age is a pinnacle of suffering that is being meted out in the name of foreigners. There are many people, a majority of whom are poor, languishing in detention camps as they were declared ex-parte foreigner because they could not engage lawyers," UCDF convener, Kamal Chakraborty said.

Das, a resident of Borai Basti in Barak valley’s Cachar district and who possessed a citizenship card of 1966, was declared foreigner by an ex parte judgement of the tribunal on January 2.

Das’ daughter Minoti Roy said, "My father was put in detention camp after he failed to appear with his documents before the tribunal when he was served with the notice to prove his citizenship. He was already sick and do not remember properly where he kept his relevant documents. Is it possible for a 102 years old person who is suffering from different ailments to remember everything?"

Choudhury said that Das was put in detention camp on March 31.

Civil rights activisit Harsh Mander in his report "NHRC Mission to Assam’s Detention Centres" compiled after his visit to Goalpara and Kokrajhar detention camps in western Assam in January this year, highlighted the "pathetic conditions" of and denials of human rights to detainees.

One of the findings in the report said, "The state does not make any distinction, for all practical purposes, between detention centres and jails; and thus between detainees and ordinary inmates".

"There is no clear legal regime governing the rights and entitlements of detainees. Consequently, the jail authorities appear to apply the Assam Jail Manual to them, but deny them even the benefits, like parole, waged work etc., that the inmates get under the jail rules."

