17TH DEC, 2008
Delhi High Court directed the Centre to consider the petition of 62 Pakistanis who want to have asylum here because they are accused of blasphemy in their country as they profess a set of beliefs which their government says was not recognised under Islam.
The asylum seekers fear they would be put behind bars if they returned to their country as criminal proceedings had been initiated against them.
Appearing before the bench of Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Murlidhar, lawyer for 62 Pak nationals Ms Meenakshi Arora and Mr V Madhukar said that the 62 Pak nationals had joined the Mahdi Foundation which is a separate cult and Pak govt does not approve of it. If they are forced to go back they will be put in jail, therefore they be granted asylum, the lawyer said.
The bench directed the central govt to consider the petition of the 62 persons and file their reply by February 13.
Ms Arora contended that India had earlier too given asylum to people on various grounds but we do not have any law relating to granting of asylum here. In UK there is a law for granting Asylum and many people from Pakistan, believing the same cult have got asylum there.
Ms Arora also filed a petition on behalf of a UN body of Human Rights which have sought to be one of the parties in the case. The UN-HRC is a body which will emerge if the central govt fails to consider the request of these Pak nationals. it will then find any other country who is willing to accommodate them and then provide them naturalisation in that jurisdiction.
UNI
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Tags : Constitutional Law
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