The Supreme Court has issued a directive stating that foreign nationals required for criminal proceedings in India should not be allowed to leave the country. This statement was made by a bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, who emphasized the need for stringent controls on the movement of foreigners facing criminal charges in India.
The ruling came during the consideration of bail conditions for a Nigerian national implicated in a narcotics case. The court’s decision addresses the broader protocol for handling foreign nationals who are granted bail but are still needed within the country to respond to criminal charges.
The justices outlined that upon granting bail to a foreign national, the court must notify the state or prosecuting agency, which in turn should immediately inform the registration officer as per the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992. “When a foreigner’s presence is required in India to answer a criminal charge, permission to leave India must be refused,” the bench stated, referring to the restrictions that can be imposed under the Foreigners Order of 1948.
This order requires that no foreigner may leave India without permission from the civil authority with the relevant jurisdiction. The Supreme Court also highlighted that any bail conditions allowing an investigative agency to continuously track the movements of an accused were previously deemed to violate the right to privacy as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The bench further instructed that the registration officer must communicate the bail order to all relevant agencies, including civil authorities, ensuring that the foreign national does not leave the country without proper authorization. This measure is aimed at enabling authorities under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and related regulations to take appropriate legal actions as necessary.
In its detailed directive, the Supreme Court also addressed the administrative aspect of these regulations. It mandated that a copy of its order be forwarded to the registrar generals of all high courts, who should then distribute it to all criminal courts within their respective states. This is to ensure that the stipulations are uniformly understood and applied across the judicial system.
The decision also touches on the procedural issues surrounding the impleadment of a foreign registration officer in bail applications by foreigners, noting that involving civil authorities in all such applications could lead to unnecessary delays. However, the bench clarified that the authorities have no locus to oppose the bail applications of foreigners unless the charges involve offences punishable under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, which deals with penalties for contravention of the law’s provisions.
