The Indian Supreme Court has stayed a deportation order issued on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, of a Tamil Tamil who has been living in India for the last nine years. The court also sought a response from the central authorities on his request to physically visit the Switzerland embassy for processing his visa on humanitarian grounds.
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A bench of Justices KV Vishwanathan and N Kotiswar Singh heard the case and issued notice to the relevant authorities.
"Since about five and a half years have elapsed since the issuance of the deportation order, we seek an updated response from the authorities on the current status of the petitioner," the bench said.
The petitioner, currently lodged in the Trichy special camp, moved the Supreme Court to quash the deportation order and allow him to go to the Switzerland embassy. He cited past family tragedies and claimed that his life was in grave danger if he returned to Sri Lanka.
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The Madras High Court had rejected his earlier plea to go to the embassy in December 2024.
Senior advocate Jayant Muth Raj, appearing for the petitioner, highlighted that the man had already spent nine years in India - three in jail and six in custody. Emphasising on the threat of deportation, he pleaded to the court:
"Don't deport me, as all my family members have been eliminated… I am not going to cause any harm to India… Please don't send me to Sri Lanka. If Switzerland is giving humanitarian visas, I will go there rather than be killed in Sri Lanka."
"My brother and others were killed after being caught… the whole family has been eliminated," he added.
Addressing the previous allegations, the senior counsel told the court that the petitioner was acquitted in a human trafficking case in 2019. He also assured the court that the petitioner would personally bear the expenses of the security officer who would accompany him to the embassy.
When Justice Vishwanathan asked about the urgency of listing the case during partial working days, Muth Raj replied:
“During the war, my father and sister-in-law were killed. After 2019, my brother and others were captured and killed – not in battle, but after being captured.”
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The counsel also told the court that the Switzerland embassy had sent an email requesting the physical presence of the petitioner for the visa process.
The case has now been stayed and the Centre has been asked to file its response.
Case Title: BASKARAN @ MAYURAN AND ANR. Versus THE UNION OF INDIA AND ORS., Diary No. 16491-2025
