Mumbai: Couple held for ‘illegal stay’ in India given bail by judge

MUMBAI: After spending 28 days in jail, a Bandra couple who were arrested on charges of illegally staying in the country have been granted bail by a sessions court.
The man, said to be a Nepali national, and the woman, said to be a Bangladeshi national, have lived in the country for at least 28 years. The court relied on a high court order to say that until the allegations made against them are established in a “fulldressed trial” they are entitled to be released on bail.
Granting the relief to Lal Singh Vishwakarma (56) and his wife, Sunita Vishwakarma (48), last week, judge R M Sadrani said: “It is clear that applicants are residing at least from last 28 years in India.Applicants are having some documents like PAN card and Adhaar card issued by Government of India. Trial will take time to commence.”
The judge said that they were to give their detailed address and phone number at the time of furnishing bail.
Lal Singh, purported by the prosecution to be a Nepali national, sought bail through his advocates A Z Mookhtiar and Adnan A Mookhtiar, submitting that he moved from Punjab to the city in 1965, married his wife, alleged to be a Bangladeshi national, in 1992, and had three children, who are studying here.
He said that prior to his move, his family had been residing in Punjab from 1949. The defence also submitted that even assuming the case of the prosecution to be true, no document is required for a person coming from Nepal to India as per the treaties between the two countries.
The defence also submitted that the couple had been falsely implicated through incorrect information given by people who wanted to grab their house property.
They had been booked under sections of the Passport (Entry Into India) Rules, the Foreigners Order, and the Foreigners Act. The maximum sentence attracted in the case is five years imprisonment.
The two were arrested on October 31. The prosecution’s case is that a raid was conducted at their home after the police received “secret information” about their illegal entry into India. It was further alleged that when the police inquired with them, they noticed that as per the “tone” of their speech, Lal Singh was Nepali and Sunita was Bangladeshi. Dissatisfied with the information the couple gave, they arrested the two.
The couple’s earlier plea for bail was rejected by the magistrate’s court on November 5 on the grounds that they would abscond. They then moved the sessions court seeking bail.
The prosecution opposed the bail pleas on the grounds that the couple were unable to produce their birth certificate, which they said was one of the essential documents to prove their Indian citizenship. “Even the applicants have not produced school-leaving certificates. Applicants are residing in India from the last 28 years illegally,” the prosecution argued.
Granting bail, the court directed the couple to be present at the Bandra police station as and when required. “Applicants shall not leave India without previous permission of the court,” it said.