YouTube vlogger Manisha Malik, wife of New Zealand YouTuber Karl Edward Rice (popularly known as Karl Rock), has moved the Delhi High Court, seeking quashing of blacklisting order issue against her husband and issuance of an Indian Visa to him, for visiting the country.
The petition has been filed by Advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi.
He said the petitioner is an Indian national, who has been with Karl Edward Rice, a national of New Zealand, since 2014 and married him in 2019. Since their marriage, the petitioner and Rice have been peacefully living together in New Delhi. The petitioner and her husband are YouTube vloggers and have visited most of India to capture its beauty, while also promoting tourism in India.
The petitioner, by virtue of denial of visa to her husband, who has been arbitrarily blacklisted by the Respondents, is deprived of living with her husband, thereby violating her fundamental right to life and dignity as guaranteed under Article 21, noted the Counsel.
“The petitioner’s husband, Mr Karl Edward Rice, has a dual nationality of New Zealand and Netherlands and has been visiting India since 2013, strictly abiding by the laws of the country and the conditions of visa. During the entire period since 2013, while Mr Rice has been granted Indian visa on various occasions, there hasn’t been even a single allegation against him”, said the petition.
It wa argued that subsequent to the marriage of Ms Malik with Mr Rice, he was granted an X-2 Visa (meant for spouse/children of an Indian citizen), which had a validity period between May 6, 2019 to May 5, 2024. One of the conditions in the said Visa was for the petitioner’s husband to exit India every 180 days or to intimate the concerned Foreigner Regional Registration Office.
Complying with the aforesaid condition of exiting the nation, while the Petitioner’s husband left India on October 10, 2020, he has not been able to return to India because any application for issuance of an Indian Visa is being rejected by the Respondents. While the petitioner has been running from pillar to post and no reasons are communicated to either Mr Rice or to the petitioner herself as to on what basis her husband’s request for issuance of visa have been rejected, the petitioner’s husband was only verbally informed that he has been blacklisted and therefore, not permitted to enter India, alleged Ms Malik.
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“The petitioner and her husband, separated by virtue of this sudden and arbitrary blacklisting by the Respondents are also not been given any manner of an indication as to the nature or period of such blacklisting. Non-communication of the grounds of blacklisting the petitioner’s husband, continued silence maintained by the Respondents on various representations preferred both by the petitioner and her husband, the resulting separation of a married couple, lack of any opportunity or notice to the petitioner or her husband to indicate any violation of visa conditions and denial of issuance of visa to the petitioner, it is submitted, are an arbitrary abuse of power by the respondents and stand in violation of rights of the petitioner under Articles 19 and that of the petitioner and her husband under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution”, the petition read.
The YouTuber, whose channel on the social media platform has over 1.79 million subscribers, had on July 9 published a video titled, ‘ Why I Haven’t Seen My Wife in 269 Days #Blacklist”. In one of his videos, he and his wife speak about corruption in Indian politics. However, Karl said he does not want to speculate why he might have been blacklisted.
He approached the MHA officials and the Indian High Commission officials in New Zealand seeking reasons for the visa ban, but did not receive any reply, added the plea.