MUMBAI: The parents of a 16-year-old girl, who had moved the
Bombay high court
to send her to the US to get vaccinated against Covid-19, withdrew their petition on Tuesday.
“We do not wish to prosecute the petition. We are withdrawing it,’’ senior advocate
Milind Sathe
told a bench of justice
Suresh Gupte
and justice Makarand Karnik on behalf of the parents.
Altamount Road residents Viral and Bijal Thakker had urged the HC to appoint her maternal aunt Purvee Parekh (also a co-petitioner) as her legal guardian so that she will be able to accompany her niece, who is a US citizen by birth.
Due to the pandemic situation in India, on April 30, the US government restricted travel of Indians to the US with the exception of US citizens.
A minor US citizen can be accompanied by either non-citizen parent or a legal guardian.
Due to personal reasons, the parents are unable to accompany her. The state government had opposed the petition saying the Centre must be impleaded as it concerns foreign travel.
The judges, in their order, noted: “The petition is, accordingly, dismissed as not pressed. No order as to costs.”
Rosy Sequeira is special correspondent at The TImes of India, Mum...
Read MoreRosy Sequeira is special correspondent at The TImes of India, Mumbai\nsince July 2011. She has covered Bombay High Court for over nine years\nwhich includes her earlier stints with other newspapers. Her forte is\non-the-spot accurate reporting. She tries to bring a human face to the otherwise largely\ndrab court proceedings and constantly looks out for judicial observations \nthat strike a chord with the common man.\n
Read Less