The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the deportation of two Sudanese nationals who violated visa rules by absconding without intimation to authorities. The Bench observed such conduct in any other country would invite imprisonment and wondered why the courts should be “magnanimous” to show generosity in such cases when our citizens face jail for committing similar breach in other countries.
The court expressed concern while dealing with a petition filed by two Sudanese nationals - Amir Ahmed and Khames Ahmed, who were ordered by the Karnataka High Court for deportation.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar, took strong note of the visa violations by the Sudanese nationals and said the students, who have been offered education visa by India, cannot flout the local laws and “vanish without giving address”. The duo had been in Bengaluru for almost three years and was asked to give prior intimation to authorities before leaving the city. They are presently lodged at lampur detention centre in the Capital.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, who appeared for the students, submitted that the petitioners faced a grave threat of persecution if sent back to Sudan which is facing a civil war. Already their father, brothers and cousins, have been killed back in Sudan.
The bench asked Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh to come prepared with a response within a week but felt whether the petitioners deserve any generosity when they have violated the law. “If somebody does the same in US, he will be jailed,” said the bench.