SC releases Pak national, aged 62, from 7 years' detention
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has ordered the release of 62-year-old Pakistan nationals who had been lodged in a foreigners detention centre since 2015, IANS reported.
On Friday, a bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Hima Kohli observed that the Union government could not bring forth any material to establish the man, Mohammed Qamar, as a security threat to the nation.
Qamar had married an Indian national and has five children who are also Indian citizens. The court, pointing out that, said the government must decide on granting Qamar a long term visa, and it must be submitted before the court in four months.
Qamar's advocate argued that individuals who were in detention for over two years in Assam were released, but the same justice was not served in this case. But the government countered that the Uttar Pradesh government had recommended against granting Qamar a long term visa. The UP government said since the man divorced his wife, there was no reason to let him stay in India.
But the court noted that there is no evidence to show their divorce, and his children are still in India.
Though the government argued that Qamar is a Pak national and he cannot claim fundamental rights under Articles 19 and 21 of the constitution, the court said that he is over 60 years and might need his children.
Qamar was released on condition of furnishing a personal bond of Rs 5,000 and two sureties of the like amount and his permanent address in Meerut, where he proposes to stay.
Earlier, Qamar's children filed a habeas corpus petition at SC for his release. The bench had asked the government how it could keep the man detained just because Pakistan denied accepting him as a citizen and added that there could not be indefinite detention.
Qamar was arrested in 2011 and was held guilty by a court for overstaying his visa. He was sentenced to three years in jail and six months in jail. After the sentence, he was sent to a detention centre in 2015 to deport to Pakistan.