Making serious attempt to help pregnant woman, her family board flight from US: Centre to SC

The Centre Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it is making a "serious attempt" to assist an Indian woman, who is in advanced stage of pregnancy and stranded in USA along with her husband and minor daughter due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so that they are able to board a San Francisco-Bengaluru flight which is scheduled for tomorrow.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stated this before a bench, headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao, which was hearing through video-conferencing a plea filed by the Bengaluru-based couple and their minor daughter seeking direction to the Centre to make arrangement for bringing them back to India by flight scheduled on May 13 from San Francisco or at the next earliest possible opportunity.

"The Solicitor General stated that taking note of the health condition of the petitioner No. one (woman), a serious attempt is being made to assist the petitioners to board the flight from San Francisco to Bangalore scheduled to leave tomorrow," the bench said.

"The writ petition stands disposed of as no further orders are necessary," said the bench, also comprising Justices S A Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna.

The plea, which was argued by advocate Anand Sanjay Nuli, had also sought a direction to the Indian Embassy in the US to take appropriate measure to ensure that the woman has access to proper medical facilities till she is repatriated to India.

It had said that absence of proper medical facilities to her would prove fatal to both the woman and the fetus.

The plea had said that petitioners had travelled to USA on February 27 for a composite purpose of business and holiday and they had booked their return tickets for April 6.

It said due to restrictions imposed on operation of international flights in India amid lockdown announced in March, the petitioners are stranded at Dayton in Nevada.

The plea said the Indian government has started evacuation process for Indians stranded abroad and a flight is scheduled to depart from San Francisco for Delhi on May 13.

It said that flight is further scheduled to depart from Delhi to Bengaluru on May 15.

"It is humbly submitted that the petitioner No. one (woman) is in her final stages of pregnancy and wants to deliver her child in India.

This appears to be best and perhaps the only possible opportunity for the petitioners to be evacuated from USA and to return to their residence in Bangalore," the plea said.

"It is also pertinent to note that if her evacuation is delayed, the petitioner no. one would not be allowed to fly owing to her advanced stage of pregnancy," it said.