SC adjourns till July 24 hearing on blacklisting, visa cancellation of foreign Jamaat attendees
Jul 13, 2020
New Delhi [India], July 13 : The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned till July 24 hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the blacklisting and cancellation of visas of foreign nationals who attended the Markaz Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin area.
A bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar slated the matter for further hearing on July 24 after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central government, sought a week's time in the case.
Mehta sought time submitting that there is a lot of information that needs to be filed. He told the apex court that criminal cases against Jamaat attendees have been registered.
Senior advocate Dr Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for many of the petitioners, agreed to the proposal submitted by Mehta on seeking more time in the hearing.
Earlier, the Central government had submitted that the orders for revoking the visas and blacklisting foreign nationals who attended Tablighi Jamaat congregation have been passed on a case to case basis.
The submission had come after the top court sought clarification from the Centre on the orders.
The petitions, filed by the foreign nationals from 35 countries, have sought directions to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to remove their names from the blacklist, reinstate their visas and facilitate their return to their respective countries.
The petitions sought to declare the decision of the MHA of blacklisting the foreign nationals who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation as "arbitrary".
"Unilateral blacklisting of 960 foreigners by the Home Ministry vide press release dated April 2, 2020, and the subsequent blacklisting of around 2,500 foreigners as reported on June 4, 2020, is in violation of Article 21," the plea said.
"Therefore, it is void and unconstitutional as the petitioners have neither been provided any hearing nor notice or intimation in this regard," it added.
These foreign nationals were blacklisted for a period of 10 years from travelling to India for their alleged involvement in Tablighi Jamaat activities.
The Home Ministry had said that foreign Tablighi Jamaat members, who were staying in India in violation of visa rules during the nationwide lockdown implemented to combat the COVID-19 spread, have been blacklisted.
