NEW DELHI: New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday attempted a resolution to Mohd Qamar‘s gut wrenching rollercoaster life, which appeared beyond the Bollywood.
Born in Meerut to Indian parents in 1959, Qamar went to Pakistan as an eight year-old with his mother to visit her relatives in Shalami area in Lahore. Unfortunately, his mother died before the expiry of visa period and he was left in the care of his mother’s relatives.
On becoming an adult, he got a Pakistani passport and visited India in 1989-90. Shortly after arriving in India, he got married to Sehnaaj Begum in Meerut and in the next six years had five children, three boys and two girls.
Though his visa expired long ago, being illiterate, he never bothered to renew it. He was arrested on August 8, 2011 under the Foreigners Act for residing in India after expiry of visa. He was convicted by a Meerut court and sentenced to three years and six months.
On completion of sentence on February 6, 2015, he was sent to the detention centre at Lampur in Delhi, where he has been lodged since then. The Pakistan government has repeatedly refused to acknowledge Qamar’s identity as a Pakistani citizen and declined to take him back.
Qamar’s daughter Ana Parveen moved the SC for release of her father on bail on the ground that he had expressed before the authorities as well as the Delhi High Court the desire to apply for Indian citizenship and reside with his family in Meerut. His wife and children all have Aadhaar cards.
Taking up the petition, a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant asked additional solicitor general K M Natraraj – “How long would the Centre keep him lodged in a detention Centre? He completed his sentence more than seven years ago. His children were born here. The Pakistan government is not accepting him. He seeks to be released on bail to initiate formalities for getting Indian citizenship. What is to be done in this case?
Nataraj, assisted by advocate Ashok Panigrahi, admitted before the bench that “it is an unusual situation as the Pakistan government is not accepting him.”
The bench asked, “What is the government going to do with him?”. The ASG said that his detention even after serving the sentence was valid under the Foreigners Act as no foreigner can be allowed to roam free in the country. However, Nataraj told the court that he would seek fresh instructions from the ministry of external affairs on Qamar.
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