Court directs Australian Govt to reinstate Djokovic's visa

Melbourne: An Australian court on Monday reinstated ace tennis icon Novak Djokovic's visa - which was cancelled earlier this week and has directed the government to release him from hotel quarantine within 30 minutes of its verdict, Agence France-Presse reported. The court observed that Djokovic had done everything required to enter Australia.

When the Australian government cancelled the player's visa citing that he was not vaccinated, Djokovic argued in the court that he had provided evidence, i.e. the medical exemption provided by Tennis Australia, that he was infected with Covid-19 in December.

Australian authorities allow a temporary exemption for those unvaccinated but infected in the last six months. Djokovic's lawyers have submitted 11 reasons for appealing against his visa cancellation and described the government's move as "illogical, irrational and legally unreasonable."

However, the government informed the court after the ruling that the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs will consider whether to exercise a personal power of cancellation.

This means Djokovic might still face deportation again. Lawyers appearing for the Home Affairs ministry submitted before the court that the exemption from vaccine requirement could be given for only those travellers who had a severe bout of illness when infected by Covid-19.

But Djokovic had not suggested so in his application. Hence, his visa might be cancelled again, and if that happens, he will miss the Australian Open scheduled to begin on January 17.

Djokovic has won nine Australian Open titles and 20 Grand Slam titles, a men's record he shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. If he wins this Australian Open too, he will break the record of both.