Kerala nurse on death row: Delhi High Court asks Centre whether Nimisha Priya's family can be allowed to go to Yemen to pay blood money

The Delhi High Court on Saturday asked the Central government to inform the Court by December 4 whether the family of Nimisha Priya, a Kerala nurse on death row in Yemen, can be allowed to travel to Yemen or any neighboring country and negotiate by paying 'blood money' to save Priya from the gallows. .The matter was taken up by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora on Saturday noon after an urgent mentioning before Acting Chief Justice Manmohan. The counsel appearing for Nimisha Priya's mother, Premakumari told the Court that the family's request to travel to Yemen had been rejected by the government on December 1 (Friday) and that her daughter's execution could take place any time. .On November 14, the High Court was informed by the Central government's counsel that the Yemeni Supreme Court had rejected Nimisha Priya's appeal against her death sentence. Subsequently, the High Court had asked the government to consider Priya's parent's request to travel to Yemen. .Premakumari (Priya's mother) today moved an application in her already pending plea and told the Court that the government has advised the parents not to travel to Yemen. The advice was given in view of the fact that India does not have diplomatic presence in Yemen. .Advocate Pavan Narang appeared for the Central government today and reiterated before the Court that the Indian government has no diplomatic presence in Yemen after the regime change. As such, it would not be possible for the government to ensure the safety of the family, the government counsel said.The counsel for Priya's parents told the Court that they had asked the Indian government to negotiate with the victim's family. However, because it is the government's stand that they cannot enter into such deals, the family is left with no choice but to travel to Yemen and make efforts on their own, the parents submitted. Justice Arora considered the case and asked advocate Narang to take instructions on whether the family could be allowed to travel to Yemen.However, the Court clarified that travel permission will not be granted to the petitioner's 10-year-old daughter. As the petitioner's counsel stated that they want to make the Yemeni embassy in India a party to the case, Justice Arora said that the request may be considered by the roster bench on Monday. .Nimisha Priya was working as a nurse in Yemen. She was sentenced to death for murder of a Yemeni citizen, Talal Abdo Mahdi. In her plea, the nurse's mother has said that the only way to save her daughter from the gallows is to negotiate with the family of the deceased by paying blood money. She has to travel to Yemen for that purpose, it was argued. Advocates Subhash Chandran and Krishna LR represented the petitioner..Earlier, the "Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council" had also approached the Court for diplomatic intervention in the case. The Central government had then assured the Court that proactive steps would be taken to institute an appeal before the next appellate forum in accordance with the law in Yemen. While disposing of that case, the Court had made it clear that it cannot command the Union government to be a party to any intervention or negotiations that the family proposes to initiate. However, a co-ordinate bench had requested the Ministry of External Affairs to take appropriate measures to facilitate the family’s travel and provide them interpreters, if required.