NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant relief to an Indian national residing in Dubai who alleged harassment by local authorities there, claiming that he was wrongfully subjected to a travel ban.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalia Bagchi heard the petitioner Asif Azad, an engineer who appeared via video conference from a mall in Dubai, and directed him to contact the Indian Embassy in the UAE for assistance.
Azad, a permanent resident of Kerala, alleged that he had been trapped and implicated by some drug mafia and was facing a travel ban in Dubai due to a case against him in the southern state.
“We have heard the petitioner personally. We are not inclined to accept the story as reported here. Let him approach the embassy,” the council ordered.
When Azad alleged that some MLAs in Kerala were “against him”, the CJI quipped that he should “take advantage of the changed system”.
During the proceedings, the petitioner was asked about his whereabouts, and he replied that he was attending in person via video conference from a shopping mall in Dubai.
On learning about this, the CJI asked how far the Indian Embassy was from his current location.
When Azad replied that the place was about 20 km away, the CJI said: “Then go to the Indian embassy. There is public transport available.”
The petitioner said he might be arrested if he went to the embassy and claimed that the “drug mafia” had hatched a conspiracy against him, involving forgery of checks, which led to Dubai Courts imposing a travel ban on him.
“I am called an illegal immigrant. They kicked me at night, and the CCTV cameras have proof of that. Please restore my rights under Article 21,” Azad said.
Azad said investigations into the case against him in Kerala were one-sided and no progress was made in the investigation for 41 days.
He claimed that some MLAs in Kerala are also against it. The CJI referred to the current political changes taking place in Kerala and said, “Now some changes are happening as you see on TV. So, take advantage of the changed system.”
This article was generated from an automated news feed without any modifications to the text.
