The Supreme Court On Friday directed the Centre that a plea seeking direction to it to make arrangement for repatriation of Indian migrant workers who were granted amnesty by Kuwait amid COVID-19 but are still stuck there be treated as a representation and to dispose it off expeditiously.
In today’s hearing the petitioner contended before the Apex court that “Petitioners are residing in the deportation centre in Kuwait and State of Kuwait has agreed to repatriate. But there is no permission from Government of India.”
Later, Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta replied that “arrangements are being made. Several parameters are being worked out to decide from which country they need to be brought back.”
The plea had stated that Kuwait had granted general amnesty to those who do not have valid residency permits in the country due to difficulties faced on account of the COVID-19 outbreak. It had said that those granted general amnesty in Kuwait were initially given time till April 30 to make arrangements for leaving the country, failing which they would be subjected to imprisonment.
“However, due to the current lockdown which is in place and international travel restrictions due to outbreak of pandemic COVID-19, the petitioners and similarly placed expats who are beneficiaries of the general amnesty granted by state of Kuwait are unable to return to India and are languishing in detention camps in the state of Kuwait,” the plea, filed by four Indian citizens who are in Kuwait, had said.
The writ petition was filed by the Petitioners who are beneficiaries of general amnesty granted by the State of Kuwait to all those who do not have valid residency permits in the country and due to the current lockdown which is in place and international travel restrictions due to outbreak of pandemic, COVID19 petitioners are unable to return to India and are languishing in detention camps in the State of Kuwait, whereby the respondents were the Union of India along with Central Ministry of civil aviation and Home Affairs. The matter was heard today by the Supreme court bench consists of Justice L.NageshwaraRao, Justice Sanjay KishanKaul and Justice B.R. Gavai.
It was mentioned in the petition that the detention camps in which the Petitioners and around 3000 similarly placed Indian migrant workers are lodged presently are overcrowded lacking basic amenities including medical facilities in case of emergency. It is also worrying fact is that due to space crunch in such camps, social distancing is impossible and the petitioners and similarly placed Indian citizens are vulnerable to Covid-19 infection.
The petitioner stated in the petition that State of Kuwait granted general amnesty to Petitioners and similarly placed Migrant Workers due to the difficulties being faced by Kuwait on account of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, even after completing technicalities, the distressed migrant workers were unable to return to India solely because of the stringent travel restrictions imposed by the Respondents Government herein. Therefore, the restrictions will ultimately lead to imprisonment of thousands of Indian emigrant workers, thereby grossly violating their basic Human Rights, which ought to be protected by the Respondent Central Government herein.
“It is also pertinent to mentioned that the State of Kuwait has offered to send back the Petitioners along with other similarly placed people to India free of cost and by its own civil airlines. The Petitioners have sent their representation to various officials including the External Affairs Minister and other officials at Indian Embassy in Kuwait. But no action has been taken to repatriate them back to India”, mentioned in the petition.
-India Legal Bureau