A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed as withdrawn a petition filed by the mother of Nimisha Fathima, a Keralite woman who is languishing in a jail in Afghanistan, seeking a directive to the Centre to take expeditious steps to repatriate her daughter and granddaughter.
When the case came up for hearing, the Bench led by Justice K. Vinod Chandran was of the opinion that the present habeas corpus petition was not the proper remedy available under the law in such matters. The Bench, therefore, asked her counsel to move a writ petition before a single judge. The counsel then withdrew the petition.
In her petition, K Bindu, mother of Nismiha, said her daughter's IS fighter husband was killed in an attack. According to reports, after the killing of Abu Akbr al-Baghdad, the leader of Islamic State (IS) in 2019 by the United States Armed Forces, a group of 10 women and 21 children had surrendered before the Afghanistan police.
Her daughter was among the group. The Afghanistan government wanted to deport Nimisha and her minor child and other Indians detained in an Afghan jail. However, the Indian government had refused to take back them. It was the responsibility of the Centre to bring back them, she contended.
Her daughter and granddaughter would not pose a threat to the security of the nation or society when they were brought back. In fact, her minor granddaughter could be rehabilitated and reintegrated into Indian society, she said.
