The SC 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 Nov 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.