Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) in Chennai has informed the Madras High Court of having written to Ministry of External Affairs (Consular Division) on November 12, 2022 to take steps for issuance of travel documents by the Sri Lankan High Commission in India to the four Sri Lankan life convicts in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case since they had now been released from prison on Supreme Court orders.
In a counter affidavit filed before Justice N. Seshasayee, who was seized of a writ petition filed by ex-convict S. Nalini, whose husband and co-convict Murugan alias Sriharan was a Sri Lankan national, the FRRO said, the consular division of MEA had not responded yet to the 2022 communication. Therefore, the four Sri Lankans could not be released from a special camp functioning in Tiruchi to detain foreigners without valid travel documents, he added.
The writ petition had been filed seeking a direction to the FRRO to consider a representation made by Nalini on May 20 to release her husband from the special camp so that they could travel to London where their daughter had settled. However, in the counter affidavit, served on the petitioner’s counsel P. Pugalendhi on Thursday, the FRRO P.Ve. Arunshakthikumar said her representation had been kept pending since the consular division was yet to respond.
Explaining the issue in detail, the FRRO said, all four surviving Sri Lankan convicts in the assassination case had reached India illegally in a boat and did not possess any valid travel document including passports. Therefore, after they got released from prison in 2022, the officer had ordered their detention in the special camp in accordance with a 2014 circular issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs to curtail the movement of foreigners without valid documents
Since the circular requires such detention until the foreigners get deported after receipt of the travel documents and subject to nothing adverse having been found against them, necessary communication had been sent to the consular division for obtaining the travel documents, he said and urged the court to dismiss the writ petition.
