HC asks centre to help two engineers return from Iran

The Delhi High Court has issued notice to the central government on a plea of family members of two Indians, who have sought help in securing their return from Iran.

Justice Manmohan issued notice to the external affairs ministry, home ministry, labour ministry and sought their response by May 27.

Vadodara resident Sanket Pandya and Haryana's Mohammed Hussain Khan, working with an India-based private firm, have allegedly been detained and their passports have been taken away by a private engineering firm in Iran's Zanjan city in December 2013 following a business dispute with their Goa-based company.

Later, officials of the Indian embassy in Tehran got in touch with both the Indians and made arrangements to bring them to the Iranian capital. Both were shifted to a hotel in Tehran city but have not been able to return to India.

Pandya's wife and Khan's father moved to the Delhi High Court, seeking its intervention to make appropriate arrangements for their safe return home.

The family members of both men said despite their best efforts at knocking on the doors of various authorities, including the ambassador and the embassy of Iran, the two men are being held up in Iran and were not allowed to return home in India.

India and Iran are signatories to various treaties and conventions of the UN and the human rights, said the petition asking the government to intervene and bring them back.

"In all eventualities, the Indian embassy is under legal obligation to take care of the Indians living abroad and in the facts and circumstances of the case they ought to have initiated legal action against the Iranian company and ought to have persuaded for return of their passports but they have failed to do," the plea said.

Pandya and Khan were deputed to Iran by their company for supervision of installation, pre-commissioning of the power plant being set up in Zanjan city. The power plant was being set up by Vazarjahan Company of Iran.

When the two engineers were supervising the work, a contractual dispute arose between the two companies, and thereafter without any reason the Iranian company with the intent to intimidate and pressurize, took their passports and did not return the same, said the plea.