KOCHI: Back in the arms of his parents in Canada after 19 long months, 9-year-old Neeraj Krishna couldn’t be happier. When he arrived in Kerala in January last year to spend his vacation with his grandparents, he wasn’t expecting that he would have to stay away from his parents for over a year. According to Neeraj’s grandfather M Damodaran, who hails from Thrissur, the child was initially dropped off at their place because his mother had to pursue her studies at another city in Canada.
Though Neeraj’s parents had booked tickets to Kerala for June 19, 2020, to bring Neeraj back home, the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions on operation of flights led to the cancellation of the tickets. With the mother soon becoming pregnant again, the journey had to be delayed further. According to his grandparents, the 9-year-old often broke into tears as he would miss his parents. But all efforts by his parents to arrange a ticket to Canada for him failed, as there was no one to accompany him on the journey. Only a citizen of the destination country can get a ticket in an evacuation flight.
In the end, it was the Kerala High Court that came to the boy’s rescue. Based on a petition by Damodaran and Rajesh Ravindran Nair of Thiruvananthapuram, who is a family friend and a Canadian citizen, Justice Anu Sivaraman issued the order directing the Union government to allow Neeraj and Rajesh to travel to Canada.
George Mathew, the counsel for the petitioners, had told the court that staying away from parents for a period of over 19 months had already affected the psychological and physical well-being, growth, and development of the minor child. The delay in joining his parents in Canada will cause more strain and agony to the child, the counsel said. Minors accompanied by adults are permitted to travel abroad based on an affidavit sworn to by the child’s parents. In this case, a joint affidavit was prepared and notarized authorising their family friend Rajesh Ravindran Nair to accompany Neeraj, while travelling in the rescue flights for Canadian citizens and its permanent residents to travel back to Canada.
Responding to the Central government’s submission that it was only due to the prevailing Covid crisis that the restrictions were imposed, the court held that neither the Civil Aviation Department nor the Airports Authority of India shall restrict the right of travel in normal cases, if there are no other impediments. Two days ago, Neeraj joined his parents in Canada.