Yemeni student's plea agst deportation: HC seeks govt's reply

The Delhi High Court today sought the response of the Centre on a Yemeni student's plea that he be not deported to his country as his life is under threat there.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva issued notice to the Ministry of Home Affairs and sought its reply on the student's plea by January 30 after Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain gave an oral assurance that no action would be taken without first informing the court and the petitioner.
Jain, assisted by central government counsel Rajesh Gogna, told the court that the petitioner's application for extension of his visa is under consideration and any decision that is taken will be communicated to the court and the petitioner before the next date of hearing on January 30.

The petitioner, who claims to be a Sunni Arab, has said he had a valid visa till October 31, 2016 and under the garb of extending it, he has been kept at the detention centre at Lampur Sewa Sadan here.
"No reason was ever given to the petitioner for his impending deportation or his detention," the petition filed through advocate Gunjan Singh said.
The Yemeni national has said he arrived in India in 2013 for studies and has done a post-graduate course in commerce from Pune University.
His lawyer told the court that the petitioner has been given 'refugee' status by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and should not be deported.

According to the petitioner, the Sunni Arab community is targeted by Houthi rebels and other non-state actors such as al-Aaeda and the government there.