Give identity certificate to "stateless" man by July 4: HC
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today directed the Centre to complete by July 4 the process of issuing an identity certificate and long-term visa to a foreigner who has been declared as a “stateless
During the day's proceedings, advocate Richa Kapoor told the high court that there was no impediment in providing Aziz with an identity card and long-term visa and he is only required to send his representation to the government. The bench directed that his representation be forwarded to the concerned authorities by the Centre.
Meanwhile, the state of Jammu and Kashmir gave a cheque of Rs 66,666 to the petitioner as one third of the Rs two lakh compensation awarded to him by the court. The remaining two-thirds have already been paid by the Centre and Tihar jail.
Aziz was arrested in Kashmir in 2005 and sentenced to one-year imprisonment by the judicial magistrate there. He was kept in high-security detention and then shifted to Tihar Jail in 2009 so that the External Affairs Ministry could begin deportation proceedings.
He had initially claimed to be from Saudi Arabia but the Saudi authorities said there was no record of him having ever lived in their country.