The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a plea seeking the government to take immediate steps for the repatriation or release of an Army captain, who is lodged in a jail in Pakistan for over 23 years, Live Law reported.

A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde issued notice, and sought a response from the Centre on the petition filed by 81-year-old Kamla Bhattacharjee, mother of Captain Sanjit Bhattacharjee. The plea sought directions to the authorities to intervene through diplomatic channel in the case on an urgent humanitarian basis.

While issuing notice, the bench also asked advocate Saurabh Mishra, appearing for the mother, to see if it was possible to provide the court with a list of more such Indian citizens who may be in a similar situation.

Kamla Bhattacharjee said that her son has been languishing in some unknown jail of Pakistan for the past 23 years and nine months, despite no case being registered against him. Yet, no appropriate action has been taken by the government for his release, she said.

The mother said that she was informed in April 1997 that her son disappeared after he had gone for patrolling duty at night time on a joint border in Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch. At that time, it was determined that both her son and the other person had gone missing in suspicious circumstances.

In April 2004, the mother said her family received a letter from the Ministry of Defence stating that Sanjit Bhattacharjee was presumed to be dead, according to PTI.

But on May 31, 2010, they received another letter, this time from a major general, who was the then military secretary to the president, informing them that her son’s name had been added to an existing missing prisoners of war list, the plea said.

In the meantime, Kamla Bhattacharjee’s son, in the span of 23 years, has not been given a single opportunity to state his case before an appropriate authority, or allowed to communicate with his family, said the plea.

“He has been deprived of the basic right to freedom of speech and expressions under Article 19 of the Constitution,” it added. “Therefore, her son’s fundamental right under Article 20 and 22 has been violated on the account of being illegally detained in the jail of Pakistan, especially in the absence of any case registered against him.”

In numerous letters to the successive government, the family has consistently sought for justice for Sanjit Bhattacharjee, and requested authorities to do the needful for his repatriation, along with other such soldiers, the plea added.

It said the petitioner’s family had also made few attempts to contact the family of other Army personnel, who also went missing along with Sanjit Bhattacharjee at the time of patrolling in April 1997, but very limited information was available to determine their whereabouts.

The plea further noted that Kamla Bhattacharjee’s son and his companion were not captured during any war between the two countries, but during the performance of their bona-fide official duties of patrolling the border. As a consequence of this, the inclusion of his name in the list of missing prisoner of war itself showed that her son is alive and in a Pakistani jail, it said.

“It is pertinent for the respondent to take instantaneous steps in this matter because already twenty three years have passed since the petitioner’s son has been languishing in the jail of Pakistan without any fault,” the plea added.