MUMBAI: A foreign national cannot claim conversion of his visa to run a business in India as a matter of right, the Bombay high court has ruled.
A division bench of Justice S C Dharmadhikari and Justice K R Shriram dismissed a plea filed by Iranian national and restaurateur Mohammed Jafari Naemi who was slapped with a "leave India" notice. Naemi's family runs a restaurant in Pune. He has been living in India for over 27 years, since 1986 when his mother brought him to Pune on a residential visa. He went to school, college in Pune and also completed his engineering there.
"The entry into India and stay therein are two different concepts," said the judges. "Once the entry is permitted, but on the strength of the entry, which is conditional upon issuance of passport from the country to which the person or applicant belongs, then, after the initial entry, the stay in India is subject to the issuance of visa. Once the visa terms and conditions as stipulated have to be abided by all such persons like petitioners, then, to urge that leave India notice is bad in law will not be proper," the judges said. The court continued its interim protection to Naemi for eight weeks to give him time to file an appeal.
The court pointed out that Naemi did not meet the criteria to avail facility for converting his visa from residential to business. "Once there is no right in the petitioner to carry on business activities in India unless the visa is converted, then, he cannot be heard to say that the order is unfair, unreasonable and unjust," said the court. "Conversion is also not a matter of right, but applicants must follow all legal requirements and nothing adverse should be reported against them."
The HC said the order of the authorities could not be faulted as Naemi "though holding a passport and visa of a certain category sought visa conversion and since he could not fulfill the terms laid down for such conversion, his request was refused".
Naemi runs a restaurant Cafe Mahanaaz in Pune. In 2011, he was ordered to leave India as he was on a residential visa which did not permit foreign nationals from working or running a business.
Senior advocate S R Chitnis, Naemi's lawyer argued that he had entered India legally and therefore his request to convert his visa could not have been rejected. The state's lawyer argued Naemi has no fundamental right to reside and settle in India as he is not an Indian citizen. Besides violating his visa conditions by running a business on a residential visa, the state said Naemi was not eligible for converting his visa that was available for Iranian nationals who had come to India before 1984.
A division bench of Justice S C Dharmadhikari and Justice K R Shriram dismissed a plea filed by Iranian national and restaurateur Mohammed Jafari Naemi who was slapped with a "leave India" notice. Naemi's family runs a restaurant in Pune. He has been living in India for over 27 years, since 1986 when his mother brought him to Pune on a residential visa. He went to school, college in Pune and also completed his engineering there.
"The entry into India and stay therein are two different concepts," said the judges. "Once the entry is permitted, but on the strength of the entry, which is conditional upon issuance of passport from the country to which the person or applicant belongs, then, after the initial entry, the stay in India is subject to the issuance of visa. Once the visa terms and conditions as stipulated have to be abided by all such persons like petitioners, then, to urge that leave India notice is bad in law will not be proper," the judges said. The court continued its interim protection to Naemi for eight weeks to give him time to file an appeal.
The court pointed out that Naemi did not meet the criteria to avail facility for converting his visa from residential to business. "Once there is no right in the petitioner to carry on business activities in India unless the visa is converted, then, he cannot be heard to say that the order is unfair, unreasonable and unjust," said the court. "Conversion is also not a matter of right, but applicants must follow all legal requirements and nothing adverse should be reported against them."
The HC said the order of the authorities could not be faulted as Naemi "though holding a passport and visa of a certain category sought visa conversion and since he could not fulfill the terms laid down for such conversion, his request was refused".
Naemi runs a restaurant Cafe Mahanaaz in Pune. In 2011, he was ordered to leave India as he was on a residential visa which did not permit foreign nationals from working or running a business.
Senior advocate S R Chitnis, Naemi's lawyer argued that he had entered India legally and therefore his request to convert his visa could not have been rejected. The state's lawyer argued Naemi has no fundamental right to reside and settle in India as he is not an Indian citizen. Besides violating his visa conditions by running a business on a residential visa, the state said Naemi was not eligible for converting his visa that was available for Iranian nationals who had come to India before 1984.
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