Release foreign nationals related to Markaz event quarantined despite testing negative: Plea in Delhi HC

A plea has been moved in the Delhi High Court challenging the decision of Delhi Government’sDepartment of Revenue to hand over 567 foreign nationals related to the Nizamuddin Markaz event to Delhi Police, legal news website LiveLaw.in has reported.

These foreign nationals, as per the petitioner, are currently held in institutional quarantine for over a month. As per an order dated May 9, Delhi Government has decided to hand over these foreign nationals to the Delhi Police after they tested negative.

The petition has challenged the said move by calling it bereft of any legality, and violative of Articles 14, 21 and 22 of the Constitution.

While asking the court to issue a writ of habeas corpus for the immediate release of these foreign nationals, the petitioner argued that:'Even otherwise, the mere act of detaining 916 foreign nationals in institutional quarantine for over a month, despite all 916 persons now testing negative for Covid-19, shall tantamount to illegal detention and violating Articles 14, 21 and 22 of the Constitution.'

Citing the ongoing month of Ramadan as a ground for urgency, the petitioner submits that keeping these foreign nationals in quarantine isolation, when Eid is just few days away, would amount to a violation of their fundamental rights.

While highlighting that the FIRs for the Markaz event have been registered against unknown persons, the petition says, 'The impugned order mentioning 567 foreign nationals fails to clarify if the aforementioned persons have previously been blacklisted and booked by the police officials.

Therefore, the petitioner has asked the court to order the Delhi Government to order and facilitate immediate release of foreign nationals held in institutional quarantine in Delhi having tested negative for COVID-19 as quarantine in perpetuity shall tantamount to illegal detention.