Plea to track down missing foreigners goes unheard

Chandigarh, Aug 2 (UNI) A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition seeking direction to the Union Home Ministry to track down foreigners who had come to India but went missing, came up for preliminary consideration in the Punjab and Haryana High Court today.

The PIL was, however, withdrawn after the court's division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Harjit Singh Bedi and Justice Ranjit Singh Randhawa observed that such a direction could not be issued to the Union government.

The court observed that the petitioners might pursue the matter with the Union government.

The PIL was filed by advocate H C Arora, relying upon the news report published in The Times of India on July 30.

The news report, as mentioned in the PIL, had stated that more than 35,000 foreigners including about 25,000 Bangladeshis, Afghans and Pakistanis who visited India since 2005 on a short term visitors visa have gone missing and the security agencies faced difficulties in tracking them down as they did not have any records of such foreigners.

The petitioner also pointed out 11 Pakistani nationals who had come to see the cricket match at Mohali, too disappeared after entering India and have not gone back.

The petitoner Arora said fencing of international borders with the neighbouring countries has lost its purpose as thousands of foreigners entering India exploiting the lacunae in the existing laws. The PIL also sought directions to amend rule six of the foreigners registrations rules.

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