Two judges and two lawyers of the Madras High Court Bench at Madurai have pitched in to ensure that a Sri Lankan national, M. Ahamed Iqmal, can return home.
Iqmal was 19 when he came to India with a valid visa in November 2011. But having lost his passport, he was arrested and held in prison for overstaying.
Exit permitAllowing a habeas corpus petition (HCP) filed by his father Mohammed Fawzar, a Division Bench of Justices K.K. Sasidharan and B. Gokuldas on Tuesday directed the Ramanathapuram Collector to issue an ‘Exit Permit’ to the detainee after accepting Rs. 32,000, towards overstaying charges, sponsored by Senior Counsel M. Ajmal Khan on the request of the judges since the petitioner claimed to be a man of meagre means.
Money for ticketsFurther, on hearing that the petitioner did not have enough money for tickets to take his son back to their island nation, the judges persuaded Additional Government Pleader T.S. Mohammed Mohideen to bear the charges for their air tickets from Madurai to Colombo.
Recording its appreciation for the two advocates, the Bench said: “The learned advocates have proved that the advocate community is always in the front to render assistance to the poor and needy, irrespective of their country of origin.”
Court steps inWhen the HCP came up for hearing for the first time on August 1, the judges found that the prisoner had not been released despite completing his two-and-a-half-year term, as ordered by a Judicial Magistrate in Rameswaram.
Though the Collector was willing to deport the prisoner, he could not for want of a report from the Superintendent of Police.
After the court’s interference, the SP submitted a report indicating that no other case was pending against the prisoner.
