New Delhi, June 23 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a 2019 deportation order issued against a Sri Lankan Tamil immigrant and sought a response from Indian authorities regarding his request to visit the Embassy of Switzerland in person to process a humanitarian visa application.

A bench comprising Justices KV Viswanathan and N Kotiswar Singh issued notice to the respondent authorities, noting that over five and a half years had passed since the said deportation order was passed by the government on November 20, 2019.

The petitioner, currently held at the Trichy Special Camp, had approached the apex court challenging the deportation order and seeking permission to physically visit the Swiss Embassy.

His earlier plea was dismissed by the Madras High Court in December 2024.

Senior Advocate Jayanth Muth Raj, appearing for the petitioner, emphasised the imminent danger to the petitioner’s life if deported to Sri Lanka, stating, “Don’t deport me... all my family members have been eliminated. I am not a threat to India. If Switzerland grants a humanitarian visa, I will go there instead of getting killed in Sri Lanka.”

Muth Raj informed the bench that the petitioner has spent nine years in India, three in prison and six in detention and had already been acquitted in a human trafficking case in 2019.

He also submitted that the petitioner was willing to cover the expenses for any security officer assigned to escort him to the Swiss Embassy.

When Justice Viswanathan asked about the urgency of listing the matter during the court’s partial working days, the counsel cited grave and continuing threats to the petitioner’s life, noting that his father, sister-in-law, and brother had been executed, not during combat, but after being apprehended.

The petitioner has reportedly received an email from the Swiss Embassy requiring his physical presence for visa processing.

The matter will be further heard after the authorities file their response.

UNI SNG RN