The Supreme Court on Wednesday, June 11, declined to hear the plea of a Goa-born Pakistani national seeking citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), fearing religious persecution in Pakistan.
A bench consisting of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Manmohan directed the applicant, Jude Mendes, to approach the Bombay High Court for appropriate measures.
Mendes, a Catholic who works as a chef in Goa, was born to a Pakistani national in 1987 in India. As a child, he travelled to the neighbouring country and completed his studies in Karachi.
In 2016, Mendes received his visa upon arrival in India, two years after the CAA’s cutoff of January 1, 2014. Four years later, he married an Indian woman and became eligible for an Aadhar card. However, his visa expires on June 20 this year.
Representing Mendes, advocate Raghav Awasthi argued that his client is a Roman Catholic born in India and cited a high possibility of religious persecution in Pakistan.
At present, Mendes is unable to go to Pakistan to renew his passport, expiring soon.
The Supreme Court remained unmoved in the matter and advised Mendes to approach the Bombay High Court.
This comes days after India cancelled the visas of Pakistani nationals following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that claimed 26 lives. Mendes’ visa has been valid so far.
The CAA seeks to provide citizenship to religious minorities from neighbouring countries, on the stipulation that they arrived in the country before January 1, 2014.
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