By IANS,
New Delhi : The Delhi High Court Friday directed the central government not to deport an Italian woman devotee of Shri Satya Sai Baba for her 13-year-long stay in the country till her plea of extension of her visa is decided.
Justice Rajiv Shakdher said: “The respondents are restrained from taking any coercive action against the petitioner till her application for extension/regularisation of X-entry (multiple) visa is decided by the Ministry of Home Affairs.”
Luciana, 67, came to India on a tourist visa Jan 18, 1999, and has been living at Puttaparthy in Andhra Pradesh.
Luciana was to be deported Friday. Her counsel Biswajeet Swain told the court that her visa expired July 17 this year and her subsequent representation for extension of visa has been pending decision with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
He submitted the plea after the Foreigners Regional Registration office (FRRO), Andhra Pradesh, rejected Luciana’s plea. She had moved the MHA Oct 1 and her plea is still pending.
The court, however, made it clear to Luciana to leave the country within two weeks if her visa is not extended, and disposed off her petition.
The petition stated that on July 12 this year, Luciana had moved the FRRO at Bangalore, which asked her to submit her plea to the FRRO in Andhra Pradesh which rejected her plea saying “a foreigner cannot be allowed to stay for more than five years in one stretch”.
“Foreigners cannot stay in India for more than five years… They have to leave the country and re-enter on an appropriate visa,” the FRRO had said, and asked Luciana to leave India by Oct 5.