NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the CBI to pursue the issuance of a red corner notice against an Egyptian national who has taken away his son to his native country flouting the court orders.
The apex court noted that a bailable warrant has also been issued against him.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant, and Vikram Nath impleaded CBI as a party in the case after all efforts to make Khaled Kamal Hussein Mohamed Kassem appear before the court failed.
It ordered, "We direct that CBI to be impleaded as a party to these proceedings. Notice to the CBI. At this stage, CBI shall pursue a red corner notice to be issued to secure the presence of first respondent Khaled Kamal Hussain Mohamed Kassem, who is an Egyptian national. List the matter after four weeks."
The bench said that the failure of the Kassem to abide by the terms and conditions which were imposed by the High Court would not only invite action in the exercise of the contempt jurisdiction but in addition "this court must take serious note of the conduct of the first respondent (Kassem) who has spirited away the child in an exercise to foreclose the jurisdiction of this court and the remedies available to the petitioner".
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati and advocate Aakansha Kaul, appearing for the Centre, said that they had tried to contact him through the Indian embassy at Cairo but he could not be found.
Bhati said that a red corner notice can be issued against him to ensure his presence before the court.
Advocate Charu Ambwani, appearing for the maternal aunt and grandmother of the child, said that the Kassem had committed contempt of court by not following the orders.
The bench was dealing with an appeal against the Bombay High Court order in a petition for habeas corpus which was filed by Kassem, who is the father of a minor child born on February 3, 2019, at Pune.
The appeal has been filed by the maternal aunt Paulami Apte and grandmother of the child.
According to the appeal, the sister of the first petitioner and daughter of the second petitioner married Kassem in August 2014 under the auspices of the Embassy of Egypt in Myanmar.
The bench had earlier noted that the marriage was registered under the provisions of the Special Marriage Act on October 17, 2014, and both Kassem and the deceased sister of the first petitioner were working in the same office in Mumbai in November 2007 and their relationship eventually ended in them getting married.
It had noted, "The sister of the first petitioner died on April 17, 2019, soon after the birth of the child. Since his birth, the child was in the custody of the petitioners until, in pursuance of the order of the High Court, the first respondent was permitted to take the child away with him."
After the death of her sister, Apte accompanied Kassem and the child to Egypt to look after the welfare of the child and returned to India in September 2019 with the child.
Kassem then instituted a petition seeking a writ of habeas corpus on November 23, 2019, and initially by an order dated December 13, 2019, the High Court made an interim arrangement under which the interim custody of the child was to be handed over to the Kassem till January 6, 2020, By a judgment dated January 30, 2020, the High Court allowed the petition for habeas corpus and issued a slew of directions like the interim custody of the child be given to Kassem.
It directed that Kassem shall maintain the custody of the child at Pune preferably in the vicinity near the house of the maternal aunt of the child for eight weeks.
It had said that after March 27, 2020, Kassem was allowed to take the child along with him at his workplace in Abu Dhabi and he shall at least four times in a year bring the child to Pune.
The appeal alleged that on February 16, 2020, an email was received from Kassem stating that he had taken the child with him to Egypt and since then the direction to bring the child to India four times in a year was breached.
Apte and her mother claimed that they have tried to contact Kassem through the Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Egypt but their effort has not been successful.