Foreign nationals incarcerated in prisons throughout Haryana, Punjab, and Chandigarh may soon have the opportunity to communicate with their families. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has expressed its intention to implement a new system that would allow them to make monthly telephone calls to their relatives back home.

Taking a proactive stance to ensure foreign nationals in custody maintain contact with their families, a Division Bench has commenced suo motu proceedings in the interest of the public.

This action was prompted by a request from a Kenyan national during Acting Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia's visit to a central jail (women).

Justice Sandhawalia was told during the inspection that a system was not in place for foreign nationals lodged in jails to get in touch with their families after their arrest. “In such circumstances, we are of the considered opinion that a larger human rights issue arises, which needs to be addressed by both the States of Punjab and Haryana to put in some policy/regulations to ensure that at least once a month, foreign nationality convicts/under trials are able to get in touch with their family members by way of phone calls/video calls, which are to be arranged by the jail authorities,” the Bench of Justices Sandhawalia and Lapita Banerji stated.

In its comprehensive order, the Bench also referenced a judgment in the case of "Francis Coralie Mullin versus the Administrator, Union Territory of Delhi and Others." This case addressed a comparable issue concerning foreign nationals' rights to communicate with legal advisors and family members, as brought before the apex court.

The Bench served notice to Haryana and Punjab, as well as the UT of Chandigarh, through the Home Secretary. During the court proceedings, Haryana's Additional Advocate-General, Deepak Balyan, and his Punjab counterpart, Saurav Khurana, acknowledged receipt of the notice on behalf of their respective states. The case is scheduled for further hearing on May 2.