New Delhi:
The Supreme Court on Friday granted time to the central government for filing its reply to Nikhat Parveen's plea seeking whereabouts of her husband Fasih Mohammad, a Bihar engineer who has been missing from Saudi Arabia since May 13.
The Supreme Court bench of Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Justice JS Khehar directed the matter to be listed on June 6 after senior counsel RP Bhatt sought two days' time to file the government's response to Nikhat Parveen's petition.
Mr Bhatt appeared for the Union Ministries of Home and External Affairs, as well as the Delhi government.
"It is an important matter. We want to know the whereabouts of the petitioner's (Nikhat) husband (Fasih Mohammad)," the Court told the senior counsel.
"It is an important matter, don't read from newspaper," the Court also said this when Mr Bhatt tried to read a newspaper report on Home Minister's P Chidambaram's press conference on Thursday, where the minister said that a red corner notice for Fasih Mohammad has been issued.
The Court said that instead of reading from a newspaper report, he should tell what were the government's instructions.
Fasih Mohammad, who was employed as an engineer in Saudi Arabia, was allegedly picked up by intelligence agencies from Al Jubal in the Saudi kingdom on May 13.
Fasih Mohammad, hails from Barh Saaila village in Darbhanga district of Bihar, about 200 kilometre from Patna. Fasih's father, Dr Firoz Ahmad, is in charge of the Benipatti primary health centre in Madhubani district. His mother is a school teacher in Darbhanga.