The
Hans India: New Delhi: Saturday, 13 February 2016.
The Supreme
Court on Friday asked the Centre to consider appointing a nodal officer in its
External Affairs Ministry to coordinate and oversee efforts in ensuring release
of Indians abducted by deadly terror outfit ISIS in Iraq.
A bench
comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices M Y Eqbal and R Banumathi
asked the MEA to entrust the task to an official and disposed of a PIL on the
issue.
The PIL,
filed by Delhi-based lawyer Gaurav K Bansal, said that as per an RTI reply from
Indian Embassy in Baghdad, about 40 Indians are still missing in war-ravaged
Iraq since 2014.
The bench,
however, did not issue notice on the PIL and disposed it of with the
observation that the Centre may consider appointing a Nodal Officer.
Besides
various reliefs, the plea had sought a direction to the Centre to
"forthwith intervene and expedite the process of release" of Indians
held hostages in Iraq.
.JPG)
.JPG)
