SC Dismisses PIL Seeking Guidelines to Protect Indians Going Overseas

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought regulations for the security of Indians travelling abroad.

A bench of judges consisting of Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha dismissed the plea and refused to entertain it.

“How can the Ministry of External Affairs be directed to have such guidelines for safe and secure visits by Indians? What will the SOP say—that foreign police shall not arrest Indians? Any citizen going to a foreign nation is governed by that law,” CJI Chandrachud remarked.

A businessman, Praveen Kumar, a resident of Noida, filed the plea through Advocate Rajeev Sharma. Reportedly, Praveen was mistakenly detained in Abu Dhabi last year and kept in custody for four days for having the same name and birthdate as a wanted criminal.

He was released after being produced before the magistrate, as it was noted that all the details mentioned were incorrect, apart from his name.