Secure safety, help return Indian woman held captive in Dubai: Delhi HC to Centre

The Delhi High Court has directed the Centre and the Consulate General of India in Dubai to take immediate steps to ensure the safety and well-being of a 25-year-old Indian woman who is allegedly held captive in Dubai by a foreign national.

Justice Sachin Datta also asked the authorities to help the woman return to India, if she so desires.

“In the circumstances, given the gravity of the situation, the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and the Consulate General of India in Dubai, UAE are directed to take immediate steps to ensure the safety and well-being of the petitioner’s daughter and verify the allegations made in the present petition,” the court said in its order passed on November 26.

The court asked the authorities to file a status report within two weeks and listed the matter for further hearing on December 15.

The court was hearing a petition by a man seeking direction to the Ministry of External Affairs to consider his representation and take the requisite steps to repatriate his 25-year-old daughter, an Indian citizen, from Dubai in the UAE, where she is allegedly held captive by a foreign national. Petitioner V Thirunavukkarasu said his daughter came in contact with the foreign national while she was working as a nurse at a Chennai hospital where the man was admitted for treatment.

He claimed that the foreign national offered her a medical assistance job in Dubai for a year.

Believing him and considering the pay offered, she agreed and travelled to Dubai in January 2023.

The plea said that after some time, the family’s communication with the woman gradually reduced and even after two years, she was not permitted to return to India by the man.

It is alleged that the man illegally seized the woman’s passport and visa to prevent her from returning to India.

The plea said that in October, the petitioner received a distressing call from his daughter, who said she was subjected to physical abuse and deprived of even the basic necessities. The petitioner also showed to the court certain photographs sent by the woman of her being physically abused.

The petitioner said he made a representation to the Consulate General of India in Dubai in November seeking help in rescuing his daughter, however, since there was no positive outcome, he approached the court.