The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday told the Madras High Court that the name of R. Prema, wife of B Robert Payas, a life convict in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, figured in the negative list maintained by the Union Home Ministry and she was denied visa to travel to India from Sri Lanka.
In a counter affidavit filed before Justice K. Ravichandrabaabu in response to a writ petition filed by Payas seeking visa for his wife so that she could meet him at the prison, the MEA said the petitioner’s wife had applied for a three-month single entry tourist visa at the Consulate General of India in Jaffna on November 19, 2018.
However, on verification, her name was found in the negative list maintained by the Home Ministry for preventing certain people from entering into the country. The MEA also told the court that the name appeared to have been included in the list at the behest of the Superintendent of Police, ‘Q’ branch Criminal Investigation Department in Chennai.
Therefore, it said that further information regarding the reasons for having included her name in the negative list could be obtained either from the Home Ministry of the ‘Q’ branch CID. After the filing of the counter affidavit, the judge adjourned the case for further hearing to the second week of October.
