The Madras High Court bench has granted bail for 31 foreign nationals and directed the government to revoke the criminal proceedings against them, who attended the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi in March, which later emerged as the national epicenter for COVID-19 spread. These 31 foreigners were booked under the grounds of violating visa norms by attending the event and they were facing charges under the Foreigners Act.

These 31 foreigners include 20 Indonesians and 11 belong to Bangladesh and they moved their bail petition before the Madras High court and it has passed the fresh order on Monday. The High court noted that investigating the proceedings against them is a violation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which enshrines the Right to Life. The High Court bench headed by Justice Swaminathan has said that they have a right to leave the country and go back to their homelands.

According to the reports, the court said the petitioners had endured more sufferings for their violation of the law and they have a right to leave the country when it has been facing health crises. By citing that the petitioners haven't tested positive for the virus, the bench of the state's top judicial body has stated that their lives might be in danger and it further directed the government to facilitate their return as the petitioners are willing to take care of the cost incurred in transportation.

The petitioners would also work with their respective embassies and consulates to get repatriated to their home countries. By directing the government to aid their return, the High court noted that if the government stick to its decision on detaining and prosecuting them for violating visa norms, the action of government would go unfair. The court, on one hand, averted that their presence at the religious event in Delhi was a violation of visa norms and, on the other hand, it noted that it can't deny their request to get back to their home countries.

The court said the petitioners had been arrested under the grounds of violating the visa norms and they had been imprisoned for seventy days. By considering their prison sentence as the maximum punishment, the court has awarded them the bail and directed to the government to revoke the charges. In its order, the court said that petitioners shouldn't be treated as criminals because they had violated visa norms and it further called for empathy and understanding of their situation.

According to the reports, the legal proceedings against these 31 foreigners would be closed if they disclose the affidavits regretting of breaching the visa conditions.