Nooriya can’t go abroad: HC

The Bombay High Court has restrained Nooriya Haveliwala, who was accused of mowing down two persons under the influence  of alcohol, from travelling  abroad.

“We hope and trust that the criminal case pending against the petitioner proceeds expeditiously, preferably before her renewed  passport and the visa expires,” a bench comprising justices AM Khanwilkar and AR Joshi said.

The Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) and the deputy commissioner of police (special branch) had issued a six-point restriction in October last year prohibiting the accused, who is a US national, from leaving the city. This was after Haveliwala was granted bail by the lower court. The restriction was issued on the apprehension that she may evade trial.

Haveliwala had challenged the FRRO’s restriction in the HC.
On January 30, 2010, Haveliwala had rammed her SUV into a police check point at Marine Lines, killing a traffic policeman and a motorcyclist. She later tested positive for alcohol and drugs.

Haveliwala has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and is also booked under various sections of the Motor Vehicles Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances  (NDPS) Act.

The state government had earlier approached the HC, challenging the order passed by a special NDPS court that permitted Haveliwala to travel to the US and Dubai.

It claimed that, “There is a likelihood of Haveliwala
absconding and not returning to face trial. There is no extradition treaty between the US and India.”