Invoking Raj Dharma, Madras HC directs Centre to frame policy on legal assistance to Indians abroad

Invoking Manu Smriti and Arthashastra on the duty of a ruler to protect his subjects, the Madras High Court has directed the Union government to frame a policy to extend necessary legal aid to Indian citizens working abroad.

Passing orders on a petition by one, Malarvizhi of the Virudhunagar district, whose husband Ayyappan Marimuthu had died in Cameroon four years ago, Justice GR Swaminathan of the Madurai Bench held that the Centre is constitutionally bound to step in to secure compensation for the family of the deceased. Where citizens employed abroad are unable to secure their rights, the Government of India should assist in securing them, the judge observed.

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To substantiate his ruling, the judge had quoted from Manu Smriti and Kautilya’s Arthashastra as well as Buddhist literature and Mahabharata, which mandate the duties of a king, besides international conventions.

The deceased was engaged by Africa First Matches Industry S.A, Yaounde, which had given an undertaking to pay compensation through a letter dated October 19,2021, six days after his death. However, the compensation was not paid and aggrieved by this, Malarvizhi had sought a direction to the Ministry of External Affairs to get her the amount. While in Indian jurisprudence, the concept of Parens Patriae laid the responsibility of protecting the subjects of the king, the judge said in the constitutional scheme of things it is the government. Absence of specific statutory framework cannot be an alibi for a welfare state to evade its responsibilities. The Court pointed out that in the constitutional scheme ‘Government’ must be substituted for ‘king’.

Rejecting the submissions of the Centre that consular assistance had been given to the extent possible and that the industry was no longer functional and the proprietor had passed away making litigation abroad expensive, the judge said, “The constitutional provisions and the Preamble construed in the light of the doctrine of Raj Dharma postulate that the Government of India has a duty to provide legal aid to its citizens not only within the territory of India but also outside.”

Drawing attention to the fact that migrant workers employed overseas contribute substantially to the national exchequer through foreign remittances, the judge said, “When the government is receiving such benefits from migrant workers, it has a correlative and corresponding duty to rush to their rescue when issues arise.”

Allowing the petition, the Court directed the Centre to be proactive in securing the petitioner’s claim either through diplomatic engagement or through mediation or by legal proceedings. Further, it directed the Government of India to come out with a comprehensive and feasible policy framework for citizens abroad.