No action against Yemeni student till May 11: HC orders govt

The Delhi High Court today came to the help of a Yemeni student, who claims to be a refugee and does not want to be deported due to threat to his life in his country on expiry of his visa, by directing the government not to take any coercive action against him till May 11.
When the court was informed that his student visa would expire tomorrow, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said no action should be taken against him till the next date of hearing.
The Centre's counsel informed the court that the Yemeni youth cannot seek both refugee visa and a student visa.

To this, the judge asked his counsel to take instruction on the issue.
During the hearing, the government's counsel said if the man wants a student visa to complete his studies here, he should surrender the refugee visa and has to chose one.
To this, the court said "you cannot leave him completely high and dry. Consider his refugee visa. If you are inclined to reject it, give him a student visa then."

The petitioner, in his plea filed through advocate Gunjan Singh, has contended that he is a Sunni Arab and his community has been targeted by Houthi rebels, the government there and other non-state actors such as al-Qaeda.

According to his plea, he had a valid visa till October 31, 2016, after which he was kept at the detention centre at in Narela area of Northwest Delhi.
The Yemeni student had arrived in India in 2013 for studies and completed a post-graduate course in Commerce from the Pune University, the petition said, adding he has been given 'refugee' status by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and should not be deported.
The Centre had earlier told the court that it has been decided to grant a three-month provisional visa extension to the Yemeni student.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) had said the student was released from the detention centre at Lampur in Narela here on January 27 and his provisional visa would be extended for three months to facilitate his stay for seeking admission in a Ph.D programme of Delhi University.

MHA and FRRO had said that if he gets admission he shall be granted regular visa extension. However, if he fails to get into the Ph.D programme, he would be asked to exit the country.