SC imposes Rs 20K cost on Centre for failure to provide status of Indian POWs in Pakistan jails

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday imposed a cost of Rs 20,000 on the Centre for its failure to provide current status of Indian Prisoners of War (POWs) languishing in Pakistan jails since 1971.

A bench, headed by Justice T S Thakur, slapped the cost on Ministries of Home and Defence as they failed to file the compliance report and counter affidavits in pursuance to the November 18, 2014 order.

The court directed that the amount be deposited to Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC).

The bench said that the ministries have failed to comply with its six-month-old order by which it had directed them to file a report on the present status of 54 POWs who are in Pakistan jails for the last 43 years and also a counter affidavit.

It was admitted in Parliament that according to 1985 reports there were PoWs in Pakistani jails, one of the advocates said.

The bench posted the matter for further proceedings on August 25.

The court had earlier taken strong note of the submission that though the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had provided the information about the current status of Indian POWs, the Defence Ministry had not given the same.

It had also sought to know whether post-retirement benefits had been given to the next kith and kin of these POWs and how many of them were yet to be paid.

The apex court has been dealing with three petitions raising the issue of POWs, brutality meted out to Saurav Kalia during Kargil War and beheading and mutilation of bodies of two Indian soldiers in 2013 by Pakistani army, for a direction to the union government to move the International Court of Justice