HC asks police to release Yemeni refugee

The Bombay High Court ordered the immediate release of a Yemeni national, Mohammed Qassim Mohammed AL Shibah, detained at Byculla police station since May 16 for overstaying his visa, a lawyer said here on Wednesday.

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A vacation bench of justices Gauri Godse and Somasekhar Sunderesan passed an order during the hearing of a plea moved by him challenging his detention without formal orders.

While passing the order, the court directed that petitioner AL Shibah be released “forthwith” and instructed him not to leave the jurisdiction of Greater Mumbai without prior permission from the court and keep the location services active on his mobile phone.

The court took strong exception to the lack of proper detention facilities in Mumbai and emphasized the urgent need for a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to handle such cases under the Foreigners Act.