PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has held that foreign nationals released on bail cannot be housed in detention centres indefinitely while their trials are underway, provided they meet mandatory reporting and verification conditions.
The Division Bench of Justice Sarang Kotwal and Justice Ashish Chavan pronounced the verdict while disposing a criminal writ petition filed by Mwanakombo Fadhili Said, a foreign national accused in a narcotics case.
The accused had challenged FRRO’s detention order issued in May 2025 even as her petition mentioned her visa had expired while her renewal application was pending.
“...when the issue comes whether the persons like the Petitioners who are released on bail shall continue to be in Detention Centre, we are of the specific view that in the wake of the length of time consumed in the conclusion of the trial, they cannot be indefinitely detained in such Detention Centres and deserve their release which was however subject to the condition that they can be allowed E-visa (Misc) so that they do not get out of the system and the system can tap their movements in case they intend to flee the country,” the Bench observed.
It accepted Said’s submissions that cited an identical issue in Okoro Emanuel Chimeuecheya alias Eze vs Union of India, where the High Court held that foreign nationals released on bail cannot be confined indefinitely in detention centres and must instead be monitored through reporting requirements and the grant of appropriate visas.
The court reiterated that such foreigners must be released subject to conditions, including furnishing their permanent address to the court that grants them bail and complying with reporting to the police while continuing on bail.
Applying the same principle, the Bench ordered Said’s release once she provides her permanent address and a functional mobile number to the FRRO, along with an undertaking to keep the phone active at all times. She has also been directed to report to the local police station every Monday between 10 am and 11 am.
The Court also directed the authorities to decide her pending visa-renewal application within eight weeks.
“The Petitioner shall be released forthwith from the Deportation Centre subject to the Petitioner furnishing her permanent address and mobile number/any contact number to FRRO with an undertaking that the phone shall be kept operational and active at all times... The authorities shall process the application of visa as expeditiously as possible in any case not later than eight weeks from today,” the court ordered while listing other mandatory conditions for bail.
Said was arrested in 2022 in an NDPS case and was later granted bail. She was moved to the Detention Centre after her visa expired. Her renewal application, filed on May 10, 2025, is pending.
