Mumbai: Parents withdraw plea to send minor daughter to US for vaccine

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.”