Indian court grants interim bail to 6 Bangladeshis for ‘misusing tourist visa’

The Allahabad High Court today granted interim bail to six Bangladeshis booked for allegedly misusing tourist visa by attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin in New Delhi in March and then going to Lucknow without medical examination amidst serious apprehension of spreading coronavirus during the lockdown.

The court, however, did not grant bail to another Bangladeshi Aklimun Nahar because her visa expired in April this year, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

The Lucknow bench of the high court asked the Bangladeshi nationals who got bail not to leave India without obtaining prior permission from the court.

Justice A R Masoodi passed the order on the bail applications moved by seven Bangladeshi tourists.

In its order, the court asked the Bangladeshis to surrender to the police before their visa expires. Some have visa validity till July 2020 while one till February 2021.

Passing the interim order, the bench said that the Bangladeshis can be released from jail on their furnishing a bail bond each and one reliable surety to the satisfaction of the court concerned.

Considering the legal complications regarding the stay of the Bangladeshis in India on expiry of visa and other issues, the bench issued a notice to the High Commission of Bangladesh and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs for addressing several questions regarding their release.

The bench fixed July 16 for next hearing to consider the Bangladeshis' plea for regular bail, the correspondent added.

The Bangladeshis are: Mohammad Shafiulla, Zaheer Islam alias Mohammad Zaheer-ul-Islam, Mohammad Alauddin, Jameela Akhtar, Rahima Khatoon and Zareena Khatoon alias Zorina Khatun.

They were booked by the Lucknow's Madion Police Station under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, Disaster Management Act, 2005 and Foreigners Act, 1946.

Earlier, arguing for the bail applicants, Advocate Pranshu Agrawal submitted that the Bangladeshis had come to India on valid visa and informed the concerned authorities about their movements.

They were arrested on April 18 this year and have spent considerable time in jail since then for offences in which the maximum punishment was only five years and hence they were entitled to bail, he contended.

The Tablighi Jamaat at its headquarters in Nizamuddin in March sparked a major controversy as the venue of the event was considered as a Covid-19 hot spot.