The Delhi High Court asked the Centre, the AAP government and the police on Wednesday to respond to a plea seeking a designated court for speedy trial in a case where 121 Malaysians were charge-sheeted for attending a religious congregation at Nizamuddin here in alleged violation of visa norms and also government guidelines for COVID-19 outbreak.
The court asked the Delhi government and the State police to file a status report on the petition filed on behalf of 125 Malaysians in all.
The police have filed chargesheets against 121 of the 125 Malaysian nationals.
The court, which conducted the hearing through videoconferencing, also impleaded Ministries of Home and External Affairs as parties in the petition and asked them to respond and listed the matter for further hearing on July 1.
Petitioner Fahrul Naim Bin Mohd. Noor said that the Malaysian nationals are in the care and custody of the High Commission of Malaysia here and sought direction to establish a designated court to adjudicate upon the chargesheet in an expeditious manner. The Malaysian nationals are stranded in the country away from the kith and kin for almost three months, the plea said, adding that the High Commission of Malaysia is spending substantial money on them that could be diverted for other constructive purposes, including fighting the pandemic.
Meanwhile, 11 Saudi Arabian nationals, who were also charge-sheeted in the matter approached the court on Wednesday seeking direction to the trial court concerned to conduct the proceedings through videoconferencing and decide the case expeditiously by giving hearing on day to day basis.