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Karnataka High Court
Mis Jiratchaya vs State Of Karnataka By on 25 March, 2026
Author: M.Nagaprasanna
Bench: M.Nagaprasanna
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NC: 2026:KHC:17155
CRL.P No. 4375 of 2026
HC-KAR
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
DATED THIS THE 25TH DAY OF MARCH, 2026
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA
CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 4375 OF 2026
BETWEEN:
MIS. JIRATCHAYA
W/O MAHAMAD HANEEF
AGED ABOUT 42 YEARS
R/AT NO-3/12, TOKLAO ROAD
BUANGERN SUB DISTRICT
NAMPHONG DISTRICT
KHAEN KAEN PROVINCE
THAILAND - PIN - 40150
PRESENTLY AT
FOREIGNER'S RESTRICTION
CENTRE FOR WOMEN
DIBBUR COLONY
Digitally
signed by NEAR KYATHASANDRA
SANJEEVINI J
KARISHETTY TUMAKURU - 572 106.
Location: ...PETITIONER
High Court of
Karnataka (BY SRI BASAVARAJU T.A., ADVOCATE)
AND:
1. STATE OF KARNATAKA BY
RAMAMURTHY NAGAR POLICE STATION
BENGALURU CITY,
REPRESENTED BY
STATE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
PUBLIC PROSECUTORS OFFICE
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CRL.P No. 4375 of 2026
HC-KAR
HIGH COURT BUILDING
HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA
AMBEDKAR VEEDI
AT BANGALURU- PIN- 560 001.
2. SIDDALINGAYYA HIREMATH
POLICE OFFICER-PC-17893
AGED ABOUT 32 YEARS
RAMAMURTHY NAGAR POLICE STATION
BENGALURU CITY - 560 016.
3. THE FOREIGNERS REGIONAL
REGISTRATION OFFICE (FRRO)
5TH FLOOR, 'A' BLOCK, TTMC,
BMTC BUS STAND BUILDING,
K.H. ROAD, SHANTHINAGAR,
BENGALURU - 560 027.
...RESPONDENTS
(BY SRI B.N.JAGADEESHA, ADDL.SPP FOR R-1 AND R-2;
SRI H.SHANTI BHUSHAN, DSGI FOR R-3.)
THIS CRL.P IS FILED U/S 482 OF CR.PC (FILED U/S 528
BNSS) PRAYING TO DIRECT THE FRRO BENGALURU, TO
DEPORT THE PETITIONER TO HER COUNTRY IN CONNECTION
WITH CRIME NO-80/2026 OF RAMAMURTHY NAGAR POLICE
STATION, FOR AN OFFENCE UNDER SECTION 143(2) OF BNS
AND SECTION 3, 4, 5 OF I.T.P ACT, WHICH IS PENDING ON
THE FILE OF HONBLE XI ADDL. CHIEF JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE
AT BENGALURU CITY.
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CRL.P No. 4375 of 2026
HC-KAR
THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY,
ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER:
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA
ORAL ORDER
The petitioner is before this Court seeking a direction to
respondent No.3 - the Foreigners Regional Registration Office
to deport to her country - Thailand, on the score that she is
one of the victims of a crime in Crime No.80/2026, pending
before the XI Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bengaluru,
registered for the offences punishable under Sections 143(2) of
the BNS and Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic
(Prevention) Act, 1956.
2. Heard Sri T.A.Basavaraju, learned counsel for
petitioner, Sri B.N.Jagadeesha, learned Additional State Public
Prosecutor for respondent Nos.1 and 2 and Sri Shanthi Bhushan
H., learned Deputy Solicitor General of India for respondent
No.3.
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3. On a credible information by the police on 03.02.2026,
that at Trinity Thai Spa Wellness Centre, No.35, 2nd Floor,
accused Nos.1 and 2 are running a brothel and trafficking
women from different places within the jurisdiction of the
respondents - police, the police conduct raid at 1.30 p.m., and
arrested the petitioner and another. A crime is then registered
on the score that a brothel is being run at the said place by the
accused persons. While search and raid by the police, the
petitioner - victim is rescued and is sent to the custody of the
FRRO, Bengaluru, on 05.02.2026. Since then, the petitioner is
staying in the detention centre. The averment in the petition is
that, the petitioner is pleading that her Visa documents have
expired and admits that she is over-staying in the Country and
wants to go back to her place - Thailand.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner would take this
Court through the averments made in the petition to contend
that the petitioner is wanting to go back to her country as she
had come to India in search of job and become a victim at the
hands of the accused persons. He would submit that the
petitioner is suffering from psychological illness due to legal
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process for investigation, which is conducted by the police in
the aforesaid crime and she is unable to go back to her country
on the score that the visa and passport are expired.
5. Sri Shanthi Bhushan H., learned Deputy Solicitor
General of India appearing for respondent No.3 - the
Foreigners Regional Registration Office would submit that steps
will be taken in terms of the Model Standard Operating
Procedure ('SOP' for short).
6. The Additional State Public Prosecutor representing the
respondent - State would admit the aforesaid facts.
7. I have given my anxious consideration to the
submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties and
have perused the material on record.
8. The afore-narrated facts are not in dispute. The
petitioner is the victim of prostitution and hails from Thailand.
The accused persons were arrested and the petitioner was
rescued and handed over to respondent No.3.
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9. The plea of the petitioner before this Court is that, she
wants to go back to her country - Thailand. The issue would
be, whether the petitioner be sent back to her country -
Thailand, when the prosecution is pending in which the
petitioner is a victim. The Government of India on 25.11.2025,
has issued a Standard Operating Procedure, governing the
withdrawal of prosecution in cases involving foreign nationals,
with the avowed objective of facilitating their deportation. The
preamble to the said SOP records circumstances which
necessitated its formulation. The preamble is as follows:-
"I am directed to say that misuse of legal
procedures by certain foreign nationals who
intentionally implicate themselves in criminal
offences to delay deportation or gain prolonged stay
in the India has been observed by the Law
Enforcement Agencies in various States/UTs. Once
the case is registered, these foreigners use various
legal and procedural tactics viz., repeated
adjournments sought on medical grounds, change of
counsel, filing frivolous applications before the trial
Court such as bail & discharge, absconding between
hearings, claiming refugee status on frivolous ground
during pending trial and by challenging various
stages of trial procedure in higher courts. These
tactics have often resulted in prolonged under trial
detention or bail with restrictions, effectively
allowing them to remain in India for years and
expand their criminal activities, gangs and organized
crimes in the country.
2. This matter came up for consideration at the
DGsP/IGsP Conference, 2024, when it was inter alia
decided that a comprehensive policy/legal framework to
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prevent misuse of judicial process by foreigners to overstay
may be formulated by the Ministry of Home Affairs, in
consultation with all stakeholders. It was further decided
that the policy may examine withdrawal of cases where
punishments were less than 7 years to facilitate
deportation.
3. Accordingly, the matter regarding framing of
a model Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for
withdrawal from prosecution in cases filed against
foreigners to facilitate their deportation has been
examined by this Ministry in consultation with
various stakeholders. Based on the inputs received
from various stakeholders, a model SOP has been
prepared in this regard within the framework of
Section 360 of Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita,
2023 (46 of 2023) and a copy of the same is
enclosed.
4. The model SOP indicates the types of cases
where withdrawal from prosecution may be
considered against the foreigners, types of cases
where such withdrawal from prosecution may not be
considered and the detailed procedure that may be
followed by State/UT prosecuting agencies and
central prosecuting agencies for withdrawal from
prosecution in such cases. Review of such cases by
two Committees i.e., one District Level Screening
Committee and another State Level Screening
Committee in cases filed by State/UT prosecuting
agencies is envisaged in the model SOP. In cases
filed by central prosecuting agencies, it has been
suggested that they may consider constituting an
Agency Screening Committee to review such cases.
5. The objective of this model SOP is to prevent
misuse of the judicial process by foreigners to
prolong their stay in India. This will facilitate early
deportation of such foreigners from the country and
will also help in conservation of valuable judicial
resources.
6. State/UT prosecuting agencies and central
prosecuting agencies are advised to consider adopting the
enclosed model SOP, by taking approval of the respective
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competent authorities, for withdrawal from prosecution in
respect of cases filed against foreigners. Steps taken in this
regard may please be intimated to this Ministry at the
earliest."
(Emphasis supplied)
It is observed that certain foreign nationals have been
misusing the legal process of the country by deliberately
implicating themselves in criminal proceedings, so as to thwart
or delay deportation and thereby prolong their stay within the
territory of India. The background to bring in the SOP reads as
follows:
"1. Background
Misuse of legal procedures by certain foreign
nationals who intentionally implicate themselves in criminal
offences to delay deportation or gain prolonged stay in
India has been observed by the Law Enforcement Agencies
in various States/UTs. Once the case is registered, these
foreigners use various legal and procedural tactics viz.,
repeated adjournments sought on medical grounds, change
of counsel, filing frivolous applications before the trial Court
such as bail & discharge, absconding between hearings,
claiming refugee status on frivolous ground during pending
trial and by challenging various stages of trial procedure in
higher courts. These tactics have often resulted in
prolonged under-trial detention or bail with restrictions,
effectively allowing them to remain in India for years and
expand their criminal activities, gangs and organized crimes
in the country.
In the DGsP/IGsP Conference, 2024, it was inter-alia
decided as under:
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"A comprehensive policy/legal framework to
prevent misuse of judicial process by foreigners to
overstay, to be formulated by MHA, in consultation with all
stakeholders, including MEA, IB and legal officers. The
policy would examine withdrawal of cases where
punishments were less than 7 years, to facilitate
deportation."."
The types of cases where withdrawal of prosecution is to
be considered are as follows:
"3. Types of cases where withdrawal from
prosecution may be considered against the
foreigners.
(i) An offence registered under the Bharatiya Nyay
Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) which is compoundable
under Section 359 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha
Sanhita, 2023(Act 46 of 2023).
(ii) An offence registered under the Bharatiya Nyay
Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) which carries a
punishment of imprisonment of up to 7 years.
(iii) An offence registered under any Central Act,
including the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025
(13 of 2025) and its predecessor Acts, but other than
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS)
Act, 1985 (61 of 1985) or any State Act which is
compoundable and/or where the punishment
provided for the offence in the Act is imprisonment of
up to 7 years.
(iv) An offence under the NDPS Act which carries a
punishment of imprisonment up to ten years.
(v) Cases involving inexpediency of prosecution where
trial is pending for more than five years."
(Emphasis supplied)
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In the light of the afore-quoted Standard Operating
Procedure, steps be taken to deport this petitioner by
respondent No.3. If the Standard Operating Procedure would
not permit deportation, the prosecution shall continue.
10. For the aforesaid reasons, the following:
ORDER
(i) Criminal Petition is disposed.
(ii) The respondent No.3 shall follow the procedure
in terms of the Standard Operating Procedure
and take further steps to deport the petitioner to
her country - Thailand, in case if not required in
any of the prosecution / proceedings.
Ordered accordingly.
SD/-
(M.NAGAPRASANNA)
JUDGE
NVJ
List No.: 2 Sl No.: 97
