An order to release a 62-year-old who was detained on the pretext of being Pakistani was given by the Supreme Court on Friday

CASE: Ana Praveen &Anr. v. UOI &Ors 

COURT: Justice DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli of the Supreme Court of India SECTION 14 OF THE ACT (defined below): Penalty for contravention in the Act 

Recently, the Supreme Court of India ordered the release of a 62-year-old man who was detained in the Foreigners Detention Centre on the pretext of being Pakistani. 

Mohd Qamar completed his three years of imprisonment in 2015 but was detained by the government in Delhi since the Pakistan government refused to accept him as a citizen. 

His children filed a writ petition of Habeas Corpus seeking his release in the court of law. Further, the court ordered that he should be granted a long-term visa by the central government within four months of this order.

FACTS: Mohd Qamar was an Indian citizen who went to Pakistan with his mother in the year 1959. His mother died in Pakistan causing him to stay there with his relatives during his initial years. In the year 1989-90, he came to India on the passport of Pakistan and settled here in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. He married an Indian woman and had five children with her. Due to a lack of awareness, he did not renew his passport and a complaint was filed against him in the year 2011, under section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946 (“Act”). As per the complaint, he was imprisoned for three years with a fine of Rs. 500. However, post the completion of his imprisonment, he was further detained by the union government in the foreign detention centre in Delhi to deport him to Pakistan. 

However, the Pakistan government refused to accept Qamar as his citizen. In the year 2015, his children had filed a writ petition under Habeas Corpus seeking his release from the illegal detention. 

HELD: The bench comprising Justice Chandrachud and Hima Kohli ordered his release and directed the government to issue him a long-term visa.