New Delhi: The Gauhati high court has asked the Assam government to take the required steps to move out the six foreigner detention centres from the district jail premises.Since 2009, a portion of three jails in the northeastern border state – in Goalpara, Kokrajhar and Silchar – have been functioning as foreigner detention centres. In the past five years, three other such centres were set up inside the premises of the Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Tezpur district jails.On October 8, Justice Achintya Malla Bujor Baruah, hearing a petition filed by Abantee Dutta, Dipika Sarkar and Santanu Borthakur, passed the directive to the state government, highlighting that such a practice goes against the Supreme Court directions in the Bhim Singh vs Union of India case in 2012 and the subsequent guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to the state governments and Union Territory administrations on the matter in September 2014.The petitioners raised the issue to question in what manner the detention centres are required to be operated by the authorities for the purpose of keeping the foreigners/undocumented migrants and others who are awaiting deportation/repatriation to the countries of their origin or waiting an adjudication of the respective claim.The high court quoted from the MHA guidelines that had clearly stated that all state governments/UT administrations are required to comply with those directions and set up “sufficient number of detention centres/holding centres/camps for restricting the movement of illegal migrants/foreign nationals awaiting deportation/repatriation after completion of sentence due to non-confirmation of nationality, under the provisions of Section 3 (2) (e) of Foreigners Act, 1946.”As per the MHA guidelines, the concerned state governments may decide on the number of such detention centres, holding centres or camps. Clause 2 of the guidelines clearly states that such centres “should be set outside the jail premises” and all basic amenities should be provided to the inmates.In April 2019, speaking to The Wire for a video report, some former detainees had spoken about the deplorable living conditions inside these centres in Assam.Also Read: Detention Centres in Assam Are Synonymous With Endless CaptivityOn October 8, the court said since ten years have passed by since a part of the Goalpara, Kokrajhar and Silchar jails were declared detention centres, it could not be “understood to be temporary arrangement” anymore.It also felt that considering the MHA’s directives, “there is requirement on the part of the State authorities to set up detention centres. In Matia area of the state’s Goalpara district, the state government has been constructing a large detention centres with funds from the MHA.In some other states too, such detention centres are being built.After hearing the argument by senior advocate Nilay Dutta on behalf of the petitioners, R.K.D Choudhury, the senior state government pleader, and A. Gyan for the Union of India, the single-judge bench of the high court said:“We require the authorities in the State Government, Home and Political Affairs to submit an action taken report within the next returnable date on the steps that have been taken to set up detention centre outside the jail premises and if necessary by following the requirement of the two communication dated 07.03.2012 and the 10.09.2014 as well as the Clause 4.1 and 4.4 of the model manual which requires that if suitable government accommodations are not available for the purpose, the authorities may also be required to hire any private premises for the purpose.”The next hearing in the case has been slated for October 16.