HC junks Fatima Isa mom’s plea to repatriate daughter from Afghanistan to India, asks her to approach single judge

Kochi, July 13

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The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea of the mother of Nimisha, also known as Fatima Isa, presently languishing in an Afghan prison following the killing of her alleged IS fighter husband in a battle with security forces there, seeking repatriation of her daughter and granddaughter to India.

A Bench headed by Justice K Vinod Chandran asked Bindu K, the mother of Fathima, to approach a single judge Bench following which she withdrew her plea.

“Plea dismissed as withdrawn. This is not a proper remedy, you should go to a single judge,” the court observed.

Bindu had on July 3 moved the Kerala High Court seeking repatriation of her daughter and granddaughter to India.

Nimisha was a Hindu before embracing Islam.

She changed her name to Fatima and later married an alleged Islamic State (IS) operative from Kerala and both were reported missing, along with 19 others from the southern state in June 2016 before reaching an ISIS-controlled territory in Afghanistan.

Fatima gave birth there in 2016.

In her plea, Bindu had said the return of her daughter and minor granddaughter “shall not pose a threat to the security and sovereignty” of the country.

She had contended that once they are repatriated, Fatima can face the due process of law and her minor daughter can be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.

She has also said in her plea that India has an extradition treaty with Afghanistan from 2019 and since there is a Red Corner Notice against Fatima who is also wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), she can be brought back to face the due process of law here.

Besides Fatima, three other IS widows of Indian origin, are also lodged in a Kabul jail.

She and three other women had surrendered to the Afghanistan government in 2019 after their husbands were killed in the fight with the forces there. PTI