Apex court grants time to centre on missing engineer case
The Supreme Court on Friday granted the central government time to file its reply to Nikhat Parveen's plea seeking whereabouts of her husband Fasih Mohammad, a Bihar engineer who went missing from Saudi Arabia since May 13.
The Supreme Court on Friday granted the central government time to file its reply to Nikhat Parveen's plea seeking whereabouts of her husband Fasih Mohammad, a Bihar engineer who went missing from Saudi Arabia since May 13.
An apex court bench of justice KS Radhakrishnan and justice JS Khehar directed the matter to be listed June 6 after senior counsel R.P. Bhatt sought two days' time to file the government's response to Nikhat Parveen's petition.
Bhatt appeared for the union ministries of home and external affairs, as well as the Delhi government.
"Its is an important matter. We want to know the whereabouts of the petitioner's (Nikhat) husband (Fasih Mohammad)," the court told senior counsel.
The court said this when Bhatt tried to read a newspaper report on home minister's P Chidambaram's press conference Thursday, where the minister said a red corner notice for Fasih Mohammad has been issued.
"It is an important matter, don't read from newspaper," the court told the Bhatt.
The court said that instead of reading from a newspaper report, he should tell what were his instructions from the government.
Fasih Mohammad, employed as engineer in Saudi Arabia, was allegedly picked up by intelligence agencies from Al Jubal in the Saudi kingdom May 13.
Fasih Mohammad, 35, hails from Barh Saaila village in Darbhanga district of Bihar, about 200 km from Patna. Fasih's father, Dr Firoz Ahmad, is in charge of the Benipatti primary health centre in Madhubani district. His mother is a school teacher in Darbhanga.