The founder of troubled hospital operator NMC Health has filed a legal challenge against a move by Indian immigration authorities to prevent him from departing to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last month, according to his court petition.
BR Shetty’s NMC, listed in London and UAE’s biggest hospital group, went into administration in April following months of turmoil over its finances and the company’s disclosure that it had $6.6 billion in debt, well above its earlier estimates. Shetty had said last month he planned to return to the UAE and denied reports he had fled the country after the hospital group’s implosion.
His petition, filed in the Karnataka high court on Nov. 30, said immigration officials at Bengaluru airport stopped him boarding a flight to the UAE on Nov 14, “without assigning any reasons whatsoever”. Shetty said in the petition that he then asked the immigration department why he was stopped and for permission to travel abroad but had not heard from them since.
The petition was filed against India’s external affairs ministry, the immigration bureau and Foreign Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) Bengaluru.
It asked the court to declare the move by immigration officials as “illegal” and grant Shetty permission to travel abroad, adding he urgently needed to go to the UAE for personal reasons. Shetty declined to comment.
Shetty’s petition against immigration officials was heard on Friday. The respondents have been asked to file their reply within a week, according to one of the sources, and the case is set to be heard next on Dec. 11. The sources declined to be identified because of sensitivity of the legal proceedings.
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