A view of the Supreme Court of India. Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma/The Hindu

The Supreme Court on Monday (January 6, 2025) said when a foreigner’s presence was required in India to answer a criminal charge, permission to leave the country must be refused.

A Bench headed by Justice A.S. Oka clarified the law in a case of a Nigerian national involved in a narcotics case.

The top court made it plain that a court, on granting bail to a foreigner, must direct the state or the prosecuting agency to immediately inform the registration officer concerned under the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992. The registration officer should then communicate the bail order to the relevant agencies, including the civil authority.

The Bench said the Foreigners Order of 1948 authorises the civil authority to impose restrictions on the movements of a foreigner.

The court directed a copy of its order to be forwarded to Registrar Generals of the High Courts, who in turn would forward it to criminal courts across the country.

The top court was dealing with the question of whether it was necessary to implead a foreign registration officer appointed under Rule 3 of the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992, in the bail application filed by a foreigner who comes within the ambit of the Foreigners Act of 1946.