COVID-19: Going home is tightrope for Indians stranded abroad
‘Court is not effective force to deal with present situation’
New Delhi: It is Catch-22 situation for those migrant workers of Indian origin in the UAE who have either lost their jobs or have not been paid salaries due to closure of business.
Staring at a bleak future, many have opined that returning to their homeland is the most feasible option, albeit subject to the resumption of air travel between the two nations.
With the Indian government extending the lockdown till May 3, and the Supreme Court of India ruling on Monday that Indians stranded abroad cannot be flown back home during the current travel restrictions, many expatriates see it as a tightrope walk for days to come.
The apex court has also adjourned for a month all petitions seeking evacuation of overseas Indians stranded abroad, including in Gulf countries.
Urging Indians to stay put where they are, the court observed that repatriating the overseas Indians at this point in time would be a violation of the COVID-19 travel restrictions imposed by the central government.
Is it constitutionally valid?
Speaking to Gulf News, former Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan, said, “Constitutionally, every Indian citizen has the right to be back in his/her homeland. But these are unusual circumstances and that’s why the government and the court are taking a stand against it.
“Firstly, the flights are not operating. Secondly, if the vast number of Indians who are presently abroad, come back, the Indian medical system may not be able to cope up with the pressure.”
The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation had informed all embassies in the UAE, including the Indian mission, offering the best testing facilities to those who wanted to be evacuated. And those who test positive would remain in the UAE and be treated in their home facilities.
The UAE has also offered to fly stranded Indians but the Indian government is not willing to have its citizens back.
To this, Balakrishnan responded, “When even state-to-state migration is being prevented, it would not be wise to bring back Indians at this stage.”
Court’s intervention
At the same time, former diplomat G.Parthasarthy stressed, “When the Supreme Court has given the decision, the government cannot defy its order. It can only take it up for review. We have to appreciate that the government does not have the habit of disowning its citizens, for it did rescue several Indians, including students, from Wuhan, China. The UAE surely understands that we have a constitutional process where there’s a separation of power and the government has to abide by the court’s decision. India has friendly relations with the UAE. So, one hopes governments of both countries will mutually resolve the issue,” the diplomat added.
Balakrishnan agreed, “Rather than the court having to give directions in the matter, the solution lies with governments of both countries. The court is not an effective force to deal with the present situation. But then the petitioners may not be aware of this. Unfortunately, nowadays PIL’s are filed in the courts on every matter. And on humanitarian grounds, the court must have heard the petitions promptly despite not functioning normally.”
Diplomatic level
The former Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India advised that the matter should be discussed between the consuls of both countries.
“There should be a discussion at the diplomatic level and the decision should be taken on the basis of those talks. It is the moral duty of the Indian government to settle the matter at the earliest,” Balakrishnan mentioned.
“Still, I reiterate that it is not just a legal issue. Other concerns, including medical emergencies, are also involved. The matter is quite complicated and this may not be the final word. It’s a matter of time and the government will certainly look into it,” he added.
Prateek Som, senior advocate, Supreme Court of India, and constitutional expert, explains:
“The executive, the judiciary and the legislature are three pillars that form the basic structure of the Indian Constitution. So, whatever decision the executive takes – whether in the form of tax, rules or ordinances, these are subject to the judicial review. The Supreme Court is the ultimate authority that checks the correctness and balance of any executive or legislative decision – whether to uphold the law, amend it or scrap it. "In the present case, the government (executive) took the decision (of not bringing back Indian citizens). Since some people were, understandably, aggrieved, they approached the Supreme Court for the judicial review. In this capacity, the court took the decision of not interfering in the executive decision-making for the time being. "Agreed, the Indian Constitution talks about the rights of its citizens, who have every right to return to India. But these are not normal conditions. It’s a time of international crisis. The government is trying to lower the number of coronavirus patients. If more people are brought in, there are chances the number of patients will increase. We have seen that 75 per cent of the surge in coronavirus cases in India happened due to people coming from abroad – whether they were Indians or non-Indians, does not matter. "I understand that the Ministry of External Affairs is in touch with High Commissions in various countries and Indians, who are waiting to return to their homeland, are being taken care of. That includes boarding, lodging, food and sanitation facilities.”
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