Nigerian gets 3 years in jail for illegally staying in India

New Delhi: A Nigerian, arrested for allegedly possessing drugs, has been sentenced to 3-year imprisonment by a Delhi court for illegally staying in India since 2016 without a valid visa.

Additional Sessions Judge Rajesh Kumar Singh convicted Darlington Chiemezie under section 14 (staying in India after the expiry of visa) of the Foreigners Act and said that he be deported to his country after completion of his sentence.

"The accused did not claim that he had entered India on a valid visa or that at the relevant time, he had a valid visa. He also did not produce his passport," the court said.

"It has also been seen that even if his contention that he had come to India in 2015 on a visa valid for six months is accepted, the inescapable conclusion is that at the time of his apprehension and arrest in this case, he had no valid visa for his stay in India. He committed the offence under section 14 of the Foreigners Act and the prosecution has successfully proved this charge beyond reasonable doubt," it said in a recent order.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict.

Chiemezie was arrested in October 2016 for allegedly possessing contraband drugs. The police claimed that cocaine weighing 104 grams was recovered from him.

However, the court has acquitted him for the charges of illegal possession of contraband drugs.

During questioning, he could not produce valid visa for his entry and stay here.

According to the prosecution, the police had written letters to the Foreigner's Regional Registration Office (FRRO) and to Nigerian High Commission but no information could be obtained regarding his entry and exit from the country.