Delhi HC asks Centre to decide on woman's plea to travel to Yemen to save daughter on death row
New Delhi, Nov 16: The Delhi High Court asked the Centre on Thursday to take a decision within a week on a request to travel to Yemen from the mother of a Kerala woman who is on death row there for the murder of a Yemini national.
The lawyer for the central government informed the court that the top court in Yemen on November 13 dismissed the appeal of Nimisha Priya, who was working as a nurse in the West Asian country, against her sentence.
Priya has been convicted of murdering Talal Abdo Mahdi, who died in July 2017 after she injected him with sedatives in order to get her passport from his possession.
It was stated that Priya injected him with sedatives so that she could take her passport from him while he was unconscious. However, he died of an overdose.
Priya's mother moved the high court earlier this year, seeking permission to travel to Yemen in spite of a travel ban for Indian nationals and negotiate the "blood money" to save her daughter.
Blood money refers to the compensation paid by an offender or his kin to the family of the victim.
On Thursday, the Centre's lawyer said according to a notification issued recently, the travel ban may be relaxed and Indian nationals may be allowed to travel to Yemen for specific reasons and durations.
"In view of the representation, let the present petition be treated as a representation. Respondent is directed to decide the representation within one week from today," Justice Subramonium Prasad ordered.
The petitioner, represented by lawyer Subash Chandaran K R, had told the court earlier that the only way to save her daughter from the gallows was to negotiate with the deceased's family by paying blood money and for which she has to travel to Yemen but due to the travel ban, she is unable to go there.
The "Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council" approached the high court last year, seeking a direction to the Centre to "facilitate diplomatic interventions as well as negotiations with the family of the victim on behalf of Nimisha Priya to save her life by paying blood money in accordance with the law of the land in a time-bound manner".
The high court had earlier refused to direct the Centre to negotiate the payment of blood money to save the woman, but asked it to pursue the legal remedies against the conviction in Yemen.
In the earlier petition, it was alleged that Mahdi had forged documents to show that he was married to Priya and had subjected her to abuse and torture.
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Vijay unable to prove majority, not invited for CM oath ceremony: Sources
Chennai: Actor-politician Vijay has reportedly not been invited to take oath as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after failing to demonstrate support from the required number of MLAs, sources in Raj Bhavan said.
According to media reports that quoted sources in the office of R.N. Ravi Arlekar, Vijay could not prove the backing of 118 legislators, the majority mark in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Despite last-minute efforts to secure support from the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazagam (AMMK), and an IUML legislator, Vijay reportedly managed support from only 116 MLAs, falling short by two members.
Sources said Vijay failed to submit letters of support from the VCK and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Later, the IUML issued a statement clarifying that it was not part of the TVK-led alliance.
Meanwhile, AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran is also said to have informed the Governor that his party would support the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) instead.
Earlier in the evening, Vijay had met Governor Arlekar and staked claim to form the government, stating that he enjoyed the support of 118 MLAs.
