No question of deporting foreign Tablighi Jamaat members if criminal cases are pending, says Supreme Court

Top court was hearing pleas by foreign nationals seeking deportation

The Supreme Court on Thursday orally observed that there was “no question” of deporting “foreign Tablighi Jamaat members” if there were criminal proceedings against them.

The court was responding to pleas by the foreign nationals to deport them, saying they had not exactly harmed national security by taking part in a Tablighi Jamaat gathering amid the pandemic lockdown in the national capital. Deportation is the normal action taken by any government for visa violations, they said.

But if there are criminal cases pending, there is no question of deportation. It is the Union of India’s discretion,” Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, speaking for the three-judge Bench, remarked during a virtual court hearing.

The court’s oral observations came soon after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) clarified in an affidavit that visas of 2,679 foreigners were cancelled on a “case-to-case basis”.