The customs department may have to pay for the accommodation of two foreign nationals whose acquittal in a narcotics case has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
The customs department may have to pay for the accommodation of two foreign nationals whose acquittal in a narcotics case has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
Singapore national Zainab Yousuf, 47, and her Japanese husband Tetsyo Hiryama, 62, were acquitted of charges of illegal possession of drugs in January this year. Arguing for the couple, their advocate Ayaz Khan told the court that the couple was seeking a court direction to the Foreigner’s Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to issue exit permits to them. Khan said that the customs department had filed the appeal owing to which their stay in India was delayed. With no source of income and without any family or friends in Mumbai, the couple’s ordeal was only being stretched, Khan said.
Yousuf has reportedly undergone two surgeries for breast cancer and Hiryama, who is not fluent in English, suffers from ailments, including amnesia and a dental problem, due to which he is unable to eat.
Hearing the petition on Tuesday, justice BH Marlapalle referred to a PIL filed for the welfare of stray dogs and said that when the government can spend on looking after animals and protecting them, it should be willing to do the same for foreign nationals stranded in the country.
Justice Marlapalle observed, “They are foreign nationals who are stuck here,” and inquired about their accommodation. The court said that if it was because the customs had challenged the couple’s acquittal in the apex court after the appeal period was over, they should pay for their accommodation.
Khan said that the issue was much larger than that of Yousuf and Hiryama as a number of foreigners were hauled up in the city owing to pending litigations or subsequent appeals by the investigating agency. The counsel for the Central government, however, said that it is not the job of the customs department to provide them with accommodation.
The court has called upon additional-solicitor general DJ Khambata at the next hearing after one week.
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