US woman on business visa in India deported: Centre tells HC

The Delhi High Court was today informed by the central government that an American woman entrepreneur, who was detained and denied entry at Chennai Airport, has been deported to the US.
The issue came up before the court when it was informed that the American citizen, who was living in India for over a decade on a multiple entry valid business visa, was detained at the Chennai Airport at 1.30 am on January 5 and was told that since there was a mark on her file, she would have to go back to the US.
Taking note of the development, the court said that as the 48-year-old woman, Kasha Elizabeth Vande, has already been deported, it cannot restrain the authorities from sending her back to her country.

"Court is informed that the US national was put on a flight the same day and returned to the US on January 5, 2018.
"In view of the above development, the court granting the relief of retraining the authorities from deporting the woman does not arise," a bench of Justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta said.
During the hearing, the counsel for the Ministry of External Affairs showed a letter from December 2017 that the foreigner was blacklisted as she was involved in NGO activities in Puducherry while holding a business visa.

The government's counsel said her blacklisting was recommended following visa violations.

The court asked whether the woman was informed in advance that she was blacklisted, to which her lawyer Kamlesh Kumar Mishra replied in the negative.
The bench said it was open for the woman to seek appropriate orders from the appropriate forum regarding her blacklisting.
According to her lawyer, Kasha was running a cafe and boutique named Kasha ki Asha in Puducherry.
On her arrival to Chennai via Kuwait Airlines, she was detained at the airport after which she informed her acquaintance Lal Babu Lalit about the incident who then filed a habeas corpus petition in the high court through advocate Mishra.

The plea had sought an order to the authorities to immediately produce Kasha before the court.
The court had sought response of the MEA and Bureau of Immigration on the petition.