The Supreme Court on Friday has directed the foreign nationals to give a copy of their petition to the Govt, who have challenged the MHAs order blacklisting them.
The Court was hearing the petition filed by Foreign Nationals, from 35 countries, presently in India challenged the MHAs order arbitrarily directing the Director Generals of Police and Police Commissioners of all States/UTs, to register FIRs against them, as reflected in the Press Release dated April 2, 2020, published by the Press Information Bureau.
The Petitioners have urged SC to quash MHA orders blacklisting nearly 3,500 foreign nationals as it violates Article 21, and sought its help to allow their travel back to their countries of citizenship.
A bench comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna has directed the petitioners to serve copy of petition to the Government and listed the matter for hearing on Monday.
Senior Counsel Salman Khurshid appearing for the petitioners submitted that notices have not been issued to all individual persons but their names appear in a list of names.
The bench was hearing a batch of petitions seeking direction calling for record and thereby declaring the impugned decision of arbitrary and unilateral blacklisting of 960 foreigners by the MHA and the subsequent blacklisting of around 2500 foreigners to be in violation of Article 21 and therefore void and unconstitutional as the petitioners have neither been provided any hearing nor notice or intimation in this regard.
The petitioners have alleged that the impugned decision has arbitrarily and unilaterally forfeited the personal liberty of 960 foreigners, from 35 countries, present in India, having come on validly granted tourist visa, alleging their involvement “Tablighi Jamaat Activities”, without defining how such activities had been prohibited nor substantiating as to how the same led to violation of the conditions of a validly granted visa. The petitioners have further sought for a direction to remove the said foreigners from the blacklist and reinstate their visas and facilitate the said foreigners to return to their respective countries.
-India Legal Bureau