The Supreme Court on Monday said it is hopeful that the revision pleas against the discharge of foreign Tablighi Jamaat members be heard and disposed of swiftly, reported Live Law.
Senior lawyer Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for the Jamaat members, said the pleas seeking discharge of eight people are listed before trial courts on November 10 and submitted that they should be decided upon on the same day.
“There were eight petitioners who have been discharged entirely,” Guruswamy said. “The revision applications [against the discharge] are listed on November 10. Our only request is that the applications may be decided on 10th itself.”
To this, the top court observed: “We hope that it is disposed off expeditiously by sessions court,” reported Bar & Bench.
A bench led by Justice AM Khanwilkar was hearing a batch of petitions filed by the Tablighi Jamaat members against FIRs registered against them for visa violations, which include participating in a congregation held in Delhi during the coronavirus lockdown.
The petitions had contended that the en masse blacklisting of foreigners from 35 nations, without affording them an opportunity to prima facie defend themselves, was a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.
Another senior advocate CU Singh said that revisions were sought in cases where some foreign members of the Jamaat had already been discharged, PTI reported.
“It has become a punishment for them, even after discharge the revision applications are filed, and matters will now be heard,” Singh said. “They are not being allowed to go back to their countries.”
The top court agreed to further hear the case on November 20, after the revision pleas are dealt with.
The Centre had in June blacklisted over 2,500 Tablighi members and prohibited their entry into the country for 10 years. The action was taken after several state governments submitted information on those who had been accused of living in mosques and seminaries amid coronavirus-induced restrictions.
On July 2, the top court had ruled that all blacklisted foreign nationals can make individual representations before concerned authorities. This came after the Centre clarified in an affidavit that individual orders were passed with regard to the cancellation of visas and blacklisting of the foreign nationals on case-to-case basis.
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