The Ahmednagar police has given back confiscated passports of the 29 foreign nationals who were part of the Tablighi Jamaat.
The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court had last month quashed FIRs against the 29 foreign nationals and asked the police to return their passports.
Three separate FIRs were filed in three talukas against the 29 foreign nationals. The men approached a local court seeking return of their passports and visa documents to enable their return journeys.
Late Thursday, the police officials called 29 foreign nationals and asked them to collect their documents.
On August 21, Justices T V Nalawade and M G Sewlikar had quashed the FIRs stating that there was no evidence that they had violated visa rules or lockdown during the pandemic and that they were made ‘scapegoats’.
“After their passports were returned, the embassies have begun facilitating the process of their return,” said lawyer Mazhar Jahagirder. He added that the men, who were living in private accommodation in Ahmednagar, have returned to Mumbai and Delhi to expedite their return.
The men, most of them small traders, came to India in February and March and were arrested by the Ahmednagar police on April 17. They were released on bail on June 17 after two months in jail.