The Supreme Court Tuesday sought response from the Centre, CBI and 12 States on a PIL seeking directions to set up a mechanism to bring back Indian workers who have lost their passports in Gulf countries and implement policies framed for their welfare.
A three-judge bench comprising Justices N V Ramana, Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose issued notices to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the CBI as also Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other States.
Advocate Sravan Kumar, appearing for the petitioner, told the court that Indian Embassies in many cases are not working proactively and not adopting any effective measure to bring back the workers as it is being done by other countries.
The apex court was hearing a plea filed by Basanth Reddy Patkuri, president of Gulf Telangana Welfare and Cultural Association, who has also sought guidelines to help Indian citizens visiting other countries for employment who are cheated by agents and employer.