Indian man returns home after UAE govt waives 500,000 dirhams in visa fine
Dubai: A 47-year-old Indian man, who stayed in the UAE without any documents for over 13 years, has been repatriated home after getting a waiver of half a million Dirhams (Rs 1,00,21,000) in visa dues, according to a media report on Tuesday.
Pothugonda Medi, a migrant labourer from Telangana, approached the Indian Consulate here after he lost his job following the coronavirus outbreak, the Gulf News reported.
"During the COVID-19 pandemic, he came to us as he could not find any odd jobs that he used to do earlier for his survival," Jithendra Negi, Consul, Labour and Consular, at the Indian Consulate, was quoted as saying by the paper.
Pothugonda told the Indian mission that he had come to the Gulf on a visit visa in 2007, however his agent abandoned him soon after.
The agent had not returned Medi's passport, the paper reported.
The mission found it difficult to assist Medi as there were no documents to prove his citizenship.
The consulate sought the help of a charity group in Hyderabad to track down his family.
With the support of social worker Sriniwas we managed to get the copies of his old ration card and election ID card from his native place. Some of the details that he gave were not matching, but still we could establish that he is an Indian, Negi said.
After the consulate provided a free flight ticket to Medi, the officials applied under the UAE government's visa expiration exemption scheme.
According to the scheme, expatriates whose visas have expired before March 1, 2020 can leave the country before November 17 without paying visa dues.
The General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs in Dubai has so far waived millions of dirhams in visa penalties.
The coronavirus has claimed the lives of 399 people with over 80,000 confirmed cases in the UAE so far.
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SC will share cause lists, info about filing and listing of cases through WhatsApp: CJI
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court will start sharing information relating to cause lists, and filing and listing of cases to advocates through WhatsApp messages, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud announced on Thursday.
The announcement was made by the CJI before a nine-judge bench headed by him commenced the hearing on a vexed legal question arising from the petitions whether private properties can be considered "material resources of the community" under Article 39(b) of the Constitution, which is a part of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP).
"In the 75th year, the Supreme Court launches an initiative to strengthen access to justice by integration of WhatsApp messages with the IT services of the Supreme Court," the CJI said.
Now, the advocates will receive automated messages about filing the cases, he said, adding that the members of the bar will also get the cause lists, as and when they are published, on mobile phones.
A cause list features the cases to be heard by a court on a given day.
"This is another revolutionary step...," Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said.
The CJI also shared the top court's official WhatsApp number and said it will not be receiving any messages and calls.
"This will bring a significant change in our working habits and will go a long way in saving papers," Justice Chandrachud said.
The top court under the leadership of CJI Chandrachud has been taking steps to digitise the functioning of the judiciary.
He said the Centre has sanctioned Rs 7,000 crore for the e-court project.
The solicitor general shared the views of the central government and said it was committed to the digitisation of the judiciary to enhance the access for common litigants and lawyers.
