Australian court orders release of Novak Djokovic from immigration detention; World No 1 could play Australian Open

An Australian court on Monday morning quashed the decision of the Australian government to cancel the visa of Tennis player Novak Djokovic to play in the upcoming Australian Open grand slam, The Guardian reported..Judge Anthony Kelly ordered the government to pay costs, while directing that Djokovic be released from detention in 30 minutes and that his passport and personal effects be returned..This decision came in the backdrop of an arrangement between the Australian government and the tennis player. The arrangement was arrived at after the government acknowledged that Djokovic had not been given enough time “to speak with others and respond fully.”.However, government counsel Christopher Tran informed the Court that immigration minister Alex Hawke will consider whether to exercise 'personal power' of cancelling the visa again on new grounds..Judge Kelly explained that if the Minister made this decision, Djokovic could not return to the country for three years. However, the same could be appealed.“In a view, the stakes have risen rather than receded,” the judge said..If status quo persists, the world's No.1 tennis player will remain in Australia and can play in the Australian Open..One of Djokovic’s submissions before the Court was that he was denied procedural fairness since he was not given adequate time between the time the notice of intent to cancel his visa was issued at 4 AM and when it was cancelled at 7:40 AM. He stated that he wanted to wait until he could speak to his lawyers at 8 AM.On the other hand, the government submitted that if the court granted Djokovic his prayer, it could once again cancel his visa and detain him..Djokovic had sought medical exemption from the mandatory requirement of being fully vaccinated to play in the Australian Open 2022, on grounds that he had contracted the virus in December 2021 and was ranked number 1. .[Read Order]