Delhi HC allows mother of Kerala nurse on death row to travel to Yemen

Nimisha Priya is on a death row for allegedly murdering a man in the war-ravaged country.

New Delhi: The Delhi high court has directed the Central government to allow Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya'a mother to travel to Yemen. Nimisha Priya is on death row for allegedly murdering a Yemeni man in 2020 in the war-ravaged country.

Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, was sentenced to death by the trial court in Sana’a, Yemen, in 2020, for murdering a Yemeni man..(File)

The high court said Priya's mother could travel to Yemen along with Samuel Jerome, an Indian man working as a CEO of an airline in Sanaa. Jerome will help negotiate with the victim's family a blood money deal which entails sparing the woman's life in return for money.

The court has asked Priya's mother to file an affidavit saying she was travelling at her own risk. The court added she must also notify the date of travel and return from Yemen.

Nimisha Priya was sentenced to death by a court in Yemen's Sana in 2020, for murdering a man in the country. She has exhausted her appeals in 2022 and November 2023. The Supreme Court of Yemen has dismissed her appeal but allowed her to negotiate the blood money option.

The Indian government had imposed a ban on travelling to the war-torn country in 2017. It permits Indians to travel to Yemen for special reasons after permission from the Ministry of External Affairs.

On December 1, MEA asked her family to reconsider their plan to visit Yemen amid a dire security situation.

The court, however, allowed her mother Prema Kumari to travel to Yemen after taking note of the CEO's willingness to travel with her.

The court also asked her to file an affidavit waiving the liability of the government of India and state governments.

“In view of the affidavit this court is inclined to direct the union of India to relax the notification dated September 26, 2017 for the petitioner on the petitioner filing an affidavit to the effect that she will be traveling to Yemen with Mr Samuel Jerome for the purpose of negotiating for the release of her daughter at her own personal risk and responsibility without any liability of the government of India or any concerned state government. The date of travel and the date of returning of the petitioner are also stated in the affidavit," Justice Subramonium Prasad said in the order.

With inputs from Shruti Kakkar