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| SC directs release of 62-years-old Pakistan national lodged in detention centre | | | agencies
NEW DELHI, Apr 29: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the release of a 62-year-old Pakistan national who has been languishing in a detention centre here for more than seven years as Islamabad refused to accept him as its citizen.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli directed the Centre to decide on granting him a long-term visa, to enable him to apply for Indian Citizenship.
The top court said that the Centre should place its decision before the court in four months.
The bench said that Mohammad Qamar, who has been declared a foreigner by the tribunal will be released on the bond of Rs 5000, and sureties of like amount will have to report to a Police station in Meerut once every month.
The top court noted that Qamar had married a woman, who is an Indian citizen and had five children out of wedlock. His daughter and son have filed a plea seeking his release from the detention centre.
The bench also took note that as per the Uttar Pradesh government, his wife had divorced him and now stays in Delhi with her five children.
"However, no document pertaining to the divorce has been produced before the court", the bench said in its order.
At the outset, senior advocate Sanjay Parikh said that Qamar should be released and be united with his family as there is an apex court order in the case of Assam detention centres where detenues who have been lodged for more than two years were directed to be released.
Earlier, on March 21, the top court had asked the Centre as to how long it wished to keep him in the detention Centre as he has completed his sentence and is now lodged in a detention Centre.
It had directed Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj to seek instruction on whether Qamar can be released to enable him to apply for Indian citizenship as his five children are Indian citizens.
On Feb 28, the top court had asked the Centre to take a call on his release for a brief period to enable him to apply for Indian citizenship. |
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