The Bombay High Court on Tuesday ordered the immediate release of Yemeni national Mohammed Qassim Mohammed Al Shibah, who had been detained at Byculla police station since the 16th of May for overstaying his visa.

The Court took a strong exception to the lack of proper detention facilities in Mumbai. It emphasised the urgent need for a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to handle such cases under the Foreigners Act.

A vacation bench of Justices Gauri Godse and Somasekhar Sunderesan directed that Al Shibah be released “forthwith” and instructed him not to leave the jurisdiction of Greater Mumbai without prior permission from the court.

The Court was hearing a petition filed by Al Shibah’s family, which challenged his detention without formal orders. Al Shibah, a designated refugee under the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), lived in India with his family after their visas expired in September 2015. Deportation orders were issued against six members of his family, including three minors.