Chinese repatriation case: Uttarakhand HC defers hearing till next week

The Uttarakhand High Court deferred the hearing of the Chinese nationals till next week, who were seeking to repatriate, after getting bail in the fake voter ID case.

Nainital: The Uttarakhand High Court on Saturday deferred the hearing of the Chinese nationals till next week, who were seeking to repatriate, after getting bail in the fake voter ID case.

A single bench of Justice RC Khulbe has meanwhile denied any interim relief to the Chinese.

China's Wang Guwang, Weng Shun Zhen, Ni Hai Peng, and Liao Jin Kang arrived in India as tourists in 2018 and were arrested by Mumbai Police on suspicion of gold smuggling. Later, the Bombay High Court granted them bail in the case.

According to Uttarakhand police, they were arrested again in 2019 in Banbasa while travelling to Nepal via Uttarakhand. They provided fake Indian voter identification cards to police. Following that, the police filed a case against them in court under Sections 120B, 420, 467, and 471. They were transferred to Champawat Jail in the matter based on the court's orders.

Read: Plea in SC against physical hearing in Uttarakhand High Court

Later, they filed a petition in the High court after their bail plea was rejected by the lower court. The High Court granted them bail, stating that no such evidence could be found against them that would prevent them from being released on bail. However, the court stipulated that they must appear at the Banbasa police station every week. They had been living in the Champawat area since then.

Meanwhile, these Chinese citizens who have been living in India since 2018 have petitioned the Uttarakhand High Court for permission to return to China.

Read: Uttarakhand HC to explore whether those serving jail terms have right to procreate