'More Than 250 Pregnant Nurses and Doctors Stranded In Saudi Arabia': Plea In SC Seeks Urgent Repatriation [Read Petition]

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking issuance of directions for repatriation of women from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who are in the final stage of pregnancy.

"It is also pertinent to mention that there are around 250 more pregnant Nurses and doctors similarly placed to the Petitioners herein who are also facing difficulty and waiting to get repatriated" the petition reads.

The petition insinuated under Article 32 of the Constitution avers that the petitioners are Nurses & Doctors in various provinces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and are are exposed to vulnerable conditions, thereby "proving to be fatal to them as well as the fetuses".

Petitioners have contended that all of them had plans of returning to India in the months of March & April for their delivery but due to the cancellation of flights amid the Coronavirus pandemic induced lockdowns, they were unable to do so.

The petitioners highlight the vulnerability of petitioners, especially in this crucial time wherein "the Petitioners are living alone in Saudi Arabia with no family to take care of them" and access to appropriate medical facilities is also far-fetched.

"It is also a worrying fact that most of the Government Hospitals in Saudi Arabia have been converted into Covid19 treatment centres and are admitting only those people with the said infection and the Petitioners are also not in a financial position to afford to go to private Hospitals for treatment" the Petition reads.

Emphasising on the need for immediate intervention by the Court, the petitioners have exemplified an earlier instance wherein "a 5-year-old girl was air lifted from Kuwait for an emergency surgery in AIIMS, New Delhi and in another case, a person was airlifted from United Kingdom to Thalassery, Kerala".

Further to this, the petitioner states that the Government is duty bound to effectuate tenets of Article 21 of the constitution and "not only to protect the life of unborn child from arbitrary and unjust destruction, but also not to deny it equal protection under Article-14"

In this backdrop, the petitioner has also additionally sought directions by the Court to the Embassy of Riyadh to take measures to ensure that the petitioners have access to proper medical facilities till repatriation is carried out, as the absence thereof could prove to be fatal to them and their fetuses.

The Petition has been filed by Advocate Jose Abraham.

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[Read Petition]