An Indian artist and his German wife, fighting for person-of-Indian-origin (PIO) status for their five-year-old son, are so upset by the delay in getting his visa extended that they have moved court seeking damages. The Bombay High Court has admitted the application.

Dhananjay Paranjpe, also called Mumbiram, married Nadine, also known as Vrinda, in 2002. After their son Hansraj was born in India, the couple began efforts to get PIO status for him; Vrinda already had a five-year visa. Following the court’s intervention, the authorities have issued mother and child only an “X visa”, which allows them to extend their stay for the prescribed duration.

The couple has sought damages of Rs 5, 000 for every day’s delay over a year in getting the extension. Meanwhile, they are continuing their fight for PIO status so that the boy could get admitted to a school.

Vrinda submitted that they had to visit the police station 200 times to get a routine visa extension. She termed it flagrant violation of the couple’s fundamental rights.

“We had turned into illegal aliens through no fault of ours. If this is how a proud Indian artist with an international family is treated in Maharashtra, then we have no hope,” Vrinda said.

A division bench of Justice Ranjana Desai and Justice Rajesh Ketkar had earlier asked the state as well as the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) if the child can be given admission if he had an X visa. Additional public prosecutor Usha Kejriwal produced a government circular stating that admission can be given to such visa holders.

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