The court quashed criminal proceedings against a foreign national to facilitate his deportation, applying the Government of India's Model Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) designed to prevent foreign nationals from misusing judicial processes to prolong their stay in India.

THIS CRL.P FILED U/S 528 BNSS PRAYING TO A. QUASH THE ENTIRE PROCEEDINGS IN S.C NO.184/2011, FOR THE OFFENCE PUNISHABLE UNDER SECTION 397 OF THE INDIAN PENAL CODE, IN SO FAR AS THE PETITIONER IS CONCERNED, PENDING ON THE FILE OF THE 6TH ADDL. DISTRICT JUDGE BENGALURU RURAL; B. SET ASIDE THE ORDER BEARING NO.FRRO/BOI/BLR/MRO/2022-182 DATED 30.05.2022 AT ANNEXURE E ISSUED BY THE 2ND RESPONDENT, SUBSEQUENTLY ISSUE DIRECTION TO THE 2ND RESPONDENT TO ENLARGE THE PETITIONER HEREIN FROM THE FOREIGNERS RESTRICTION CENTER.

THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ADMISSION, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER:

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA

ORAL ORDER

Petitioner – accused No.1 is before this Court calling in question proceedings in S.C.No.184/2021 (arising out of Crime No.13/2014), pending before the 6th Additional District Judge, Bengaluru Rural District, Bengaluru, for the offence under Section 397 of the IPC.

Heard Sri Somanna K.P., learned counsel for petitioner, Sri B.N.Jagadeesha, learned Additional State Public Prosecutor for respondent No.1 and Sri Shanthi Bhushan H., learned Deputy Solicitor General of India for respondent No.3.

The petitioner – a Nigerian national, gets embroiled in a crime in Crime No.13/2014 for offence punishable under Section 394 of the IPC – ‘Robbery or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt’. The police conduct investigation and file their final report – charge sheet for the afore-quoted offence. The concerned Court on perusal of the offences in the charge sheet commits the matter to the Sessions Court, on the score that the allegations in the charge sheet would indicate the ingredients of the offence punishable under Section 397 of the IPC, which is triable exclusively by the Sessions Court. Thereafter, the proceedings in S.C.No.184/2021 is in progress. The issue before this Court is not with regard to the merit of the matter.

Learned counsel for the petitioner at this juncture would submit that the petitioner is wanting to go back to his country in terms of the Standard Operating Procedure. It is his submission that the petitioner has no travel documents i.e., visa, passport or other documents required to travel to his country and therefore, seeks a direction to respondent No.3 to facilitate the petitioner to go back to his country. He would submit that even today, the petitioner is in the detention centre at Foreigners Regional Registration Office.

Sri Shanthi Bhushan H., learned Deputy Solicitor General of India appearing for respondent No.3 – the Foreigners Regional Registration Office would submit that steps will be taken in terms of the Model Standard Operating Procedure (‘SOP’ for short).

I have given my anxious consideration to the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties and have perused the material on record.

The afore-narrated facts are not in dispute. The petitioner hails from Nigeria. The proceedings before the Sessions Court is in progress. The plea of the petitioner before this Court is that, he wants to go back to his country - Nigeria. The issue would be whether pending prosecution against the petitioner for the afore-quoted offence, can the petitioner be sent back to his country - Nigeria. The Government of India on 25.11.2025, has issued a Standard Operating Procedure, governing the withdrawal of prosecution in cases involving foreign nationals, with the avowed objective of facilitating their deportation. The preamble to the said SOP records circumstances which necessitated its formulation. The preamble is as follows:-

“I am directed to say that misuse of legal procedures by certain foreign nationals who intentionally implicate themselves in criminal offences to delay deportation or gain prolonged stay in the India has been observed by the Law Enforcement Agencies in various States/UTs. Once the case is registered, these foreigners use various legal and procedural tactics viz., repeated adjournments s