People should stay where they are, says SC on pleas to evacuate Indians abroad

NEW DELHI: The government told the Supreme Court that it would not be possible to selectively evacuate a few people from among the large number of Indian nationals abroad, though it had initially undertaken some evacuation operations to get back some Indians from other countries and similarly handed back their citizens when the Covid-19 situation was not so grim. Indians living abroad number about 13 million, including NRIs and students, the government said in an affidavit filed on Tuesday.

“It is true that the GoI initially undertook some evacuation operations of Indian nationals as also nationals of other countries from China, Japan, Iran and Italy when the situation in India was not so grim. Many of the persons evacuated from these countries were then brought and subjected to quarantine in India," said the affidavit based on inputs from the MEA. “However, given the present situation of the outbreak in India and the available limited resources, it is not feasible to selectively evacuate Indian citizens from abroad when a large number of them from a number of countries want to return back due to various reasons.”

The affidavit said the severe risk posed by arrivals from countries affected by Covid-19 is something the government is seeking to minimise. The approach of the government has been to advise Indian nationals to stay put where they are, in line with its approach to contain the spread within India, allowing health machinery to focus on domestic containment effectively, said the affidavit.