Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has ruled that foreign nationals who have been granted bail cannot be confined in detention centres for prolonged periods while their criminal trials are pending, as long as they comply with strict monitoring and reporting conditions.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Sarang Kotwal and Justice Ashish Chavan delivered the verdict while disposing of a criminal writ petition filed by Mwanakombo Fadhili Said, an accused in an NDPS case. Said had challenged the Foreigners Regional Registration Office’s (FRRO) May 2025 order directing her detention, even though her visa renewal application was already under consideration after her previous visa had expired.
The Bench noted that trials often take considerable time, and keeping such individuals in detention centres indefinitely is unjustified. Instead, the Court said, authorities can ensure their availability through controlled mechanisms such as granting an E-visa (Misc) and enforcing mandatory reporting norms.
Referring to an earlier case — Okoro Emanuel Chimeuecheya alias Eze vs Union of India — the judges reiterated that foreigners on bail must not be kept in detention centres and should instead be monitored through verifiable addresses, functioning phone numbers, and scheduled check-ins with local police.
In line with this precedent, the Court ordered Said’s release from the detention centre once she furnishes her permanent address and an active mobile number to the FRRO, along with an undertaking to keep the phone switched on at all times. She must also report to the local police station every Monday between 10 am and 11 am.
The Court further directed the authorities to decide her pending visa-renewal application within eight weeks.
Said was arrested in 2022 in a narcotics case and later granted bail. She was shifted to the detention centre after her visa lapsed while her renewal plea, filed on May 10, 2025, remains pending.
