The Supreme Court on Friday issued a show-cause to the Central government on a petition seeking the release of Pakistani virologist Mohammed Khaleel Chisty, sentenced to life imprisonment.
Dr. Chisty is presently in Ajmer on bail after spending over 14 months in Ajmer Central jail.
The Bench of Justices P. Sathasivam and J. Chamleshwar posted the case for hearing next Monday. The Bench, while granting bail to Dr. Chisty on April 9, had asked him to file a separate petition on the issue of allowing him permission to go back to Pakistan. The day's order came in response to the application filed by Dr. Chisty, who is suffering from various illnesses a week later, seeking his deportation.
Ajmer-born Dr. Chisty was on a visit to Ajmer from Pakistan when a fracas among the family members in the neighbourhood of the mausoleum of Sufi saint Kwaja Moinuddin Chisti in 1992 led to the murder of a kinsman.