Delhi HC refuses to entertain PIL against illegal staying of foreign nationals
Dec 07, 2022
New Delhi [India], December 7 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain public interest litigation (PIL) moved against an alleged illegal stay of a large number of foreign nationals in Delhi after noting that the plea has not mentioned/filed any basis of allegations made in the petition copy.
The Bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad showed displeasure with the petitioner's lawyer for making racial comments against a specific foreign community and said "we will not accept any racial statement against anyone. These people are also human beings like us and you are making serious allegations against them without any basis. These people must have lived here with proper documentation and valid visa".
The court also warned the petitioner to withdraw the plea or we would dismiss it with a heavy cost. On that petitioner decided to withdraw it.
However, Court granted liberty to petitioners to re-approach the court with a fresh plea having proper research and adequate grounds and basis on which allegations were made.
The plea alleged that a large number of various foreigners from other countries have been living illegally in Delhi (NCR) and other parts of the country allegedly without having valid Visas and Passports.
The plea further alleged that many of them though they came in legal ways, have extended their limits of visas and passports and currently holding visas/passports of expired dates and some also have criminal antecedents in their countries.
The plea further alleged that these people are living as tenants in Delhi and their landlords have been accommodating them without their proper verification for deriving monetary benefits through them in easy ways.
These alleged habits of landlords (providing illegal shelters to foreigners without verification) can provide easy means and ways for terrorists to act in the country and they can easily get success in their nefarious plan/design in Delhi and across the country.
Many foreigners who take student visas and medical visas are allegedly getting involved in illegal acts, crimes like drug smuggling, prostitution, human trafficking and cyber fraud, read the plea.
