Kolkata, 07 March (H.S.): The Calcutta High Court has ordered the immediate release of a Bangladeshi national who was arrested as a minor on charges of illegally entering India and has remained in prison for the past 21 years.

A division bench headed by Justice Rajasekhar Mantha said that under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, a juvenile cannot be sentenced to more than seven years. The court therefore directed that the man, now 36 years old, be released immediately.

The court was informed that the accused was arrested in February 2005 and had been in continuous custody since then. A report regarding his status as a minor at the time of arrest was submitted by the Additional District and Sessions Judge of Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district.

According to the report, an ossification test was conducted which found his current age to be 36. The division bench, which also included Justice Rai Chattopadhyay, observed that based on the findings it was clear that the accused was a minor at the time of his arrest on February 8, 2005.

The court directed the state government to take necessary steps to arrange for the man’s repatriation to his home country, Bangladesh.

In a similar case, the division bench on Thursday also ordered the release of another prisoner on the same grounds. Accepting a report submitted by the Additional District and Sessions Judge of the Fast Track Court at Rampurhat in Birbhum district, the court observed that the accused was 15 years and nine days old at the time of the incident on February 27, 2011.

Since a juvenile cannot be sentenced to more than seven years and the accused had already spent over 14 years in prison, the court directed that he too be released immediately.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh