PRESS RELEASE

New Delhi, Dated: 13th August, 2015

The National Human Rights Commission, in a case of harassment caused to a woman passenger due to her illegal detention by the Immigration authorities at Chennai International Airport and subsequent action by Tamil Nadu and Kerala police, has issued notices to the concerned authorities asking them to explain why it should not recommend payment of monetary relief to the victim and disciplinary action against the erring officials.

The Commission has asked the Secretaries of Union Ministries of External Affairs and Home Affairs, Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police, Government of Kerala and Tamil Nadu to submit a detailed report in the matter within four weeks.

The complainant, Ms. Sarah Thomas, alleged that on the 29th October, 2014, she was illegally detained at Chennai International Airport and thereafter, taken into remand, imprisoned and subjected to mental and physical torture because of negligence and procedural irregularities by the officers of Immigration Department, Tamil Nadu police and Kerala police. She has mentioned the names of the erring officers in the complaint. She sought the intervention of the Commission for violation of her Right to Life, Right to Liberty and Right to Dignity.

The Commission found that a complaint in the matter was filed earlier also by some other person and decided to club it with the complaint by the victim herself treating it as the main case. It also found that the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu had not responded to the NHRC notice on the earlier complaint. However, the Commissioner of Police, Greater Chennai Police, in a report dated 21st May, 2015, accepted the gross negligence of the Immigration authorities. The conclusion on inquiry was given as under:

"As the case was registered in Kerala State and no other record is available regarding her antecedents and as no case was registered against her by Chennai Police, the Airport Police had no other option but to send her for remand. The Immigration officials mistakenly came to conclusion that she was the accused Sarah Williams on whose name LOC was issued. The gross negligence of the Immigration officers led to this unpleasant situation. She is not been concerned in any case of Chennai Police. She was detained by the Immigration authorities and was handed over to S2 Airport Police Station with instructions to hand her over to Kerala Police."

The Commission has considered the material on record and observed that admittedly, the entire chain of events, as mentioned by the complainant, occurred because of gross negligence and procedural irregularities on the part of the Immigration authorities and the concerned police officials of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

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