CHENNAI: Coming to the aid of an Indonesian engineer who stepped on Indian soil without permission, but with injuries and to escape death, the Madras high court has quashed a criminal case registered against him and ordered his immediate deportation.
"In a life-or-death situation, he had undertaken a misadventure which has led him to criminal prosecution and detention in an alien nation," said Justice Jagadish Chandra.
On September 2, 2021, Mohammad Zaenal Arifin, an engineer working aboard 'MT Asian Grace', a South Korean ship, had a scuffle with another crew member after the vessel berthed at Kamarajar Port in Ennore and it resulted in a severe injury to him.
Since there was no hospital facility at Ennore Port, he left the ship without prior permission and took treatment in a nearby hospital violating the provisions of the Foreigners Act.
On his way back to the vessel, he was detained by the local police near the main entry of the port. His passport was seized, and he was detained in the foreigners' camp at Trichy.
Challenging his detention, advocate S Vasudevan submitted that he was a seaman working on board 'MT Asian Grace'. During the discharge operation, he entered into an altercation with another crew member and was assaulted causing severe grievous injury.
Since he was bleeding profusely and was suffering from unbearable pain, he left for a nearby hospital without waiting for formal permission. The security guards at the port also permitted him to leave the premises in view of the serious injury suffered by him, he said.
Justice Jagadish Chandra said: "Technically, it may seem that the petitioner had violated the provisions of the Foreigners Act. However, taking into consideration the facts of the case, it was a life and death situation for the petitioner and in such circumstances, without understanding the legal consequences, the petitioner, in the earnest desire to save his life, had reached the nearby hospital for treatment and returned to the vessel."
The court then quashed the criminal case pending against him before the Ponneri judicial magistrate court and ordered the return of his passport.
