The Madras High Court Bench here on Tuesday passed an interim order on a habeas corpus petition, directing the Centre to take earnest steps to rescue 62 Tamil fishermen stranded in Saudi Arabia and produce them in the court by April 28.
A Division Bench of Justices A. Selvam and B. Gokuldas passed the order on the petition filed by G. Thirumugan, a relative of one of the stranded fishermen, through his counsel R. Alagumani, claiming that the fishermen had been left high and dry in the foreign country.
Though a Central Government Standing Counsel sought four weeks’ time to file a counter affidavit to the petition, the judges rejected the plea and said that it was the bounden duty of the Centre to ensure the safe return of the fishermen through diplomatic channels.
In his affidavit, the petitioner had stated that his uncle K. Sethu Raja and other fishermen had gone to Saudi Arabia on different dates since 2013 to work under one Yusuf Khaleel in Al Jubail. However, they ended up being cheated and ill-treated by their employer who was refusing to return their passports.
Claiming to have come to know of their plight through a video on WhatsApp, the petitioner urged the court to pass appropriate orders. His counsel pointed out that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa too had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi early this month seeking his intervention in the issue.