Telangana News

An Indian who walked 1000 km for justice in Dubai, is back home in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu.

Jagannathan Selvaraj, 48, said that, he covered a distance of 22 km each way to attend labor court proceedings in the Dubai Courts. He was living in Sonapur on Dubai outskirts and had to go to a neighborhood called Karama in the city to attend court. 

To attend every court hearing, he walked from Sonapur to Karama and back, which took him 4 hours. He continued doing this for every court hearing, which took place every couple of weeks - for a total of 20-plus hearings - because he was too poor to afford bus fare. 

Responding to the issue, Sushma Swaraj said, “We have brought him back to India and sent him to his village. He went up and down to the court 20 times over a year. That made it 1000 Kms.”

"My case number was 826 and I had to walk 2 hours in the morning to reach the court in Dubai. I used to get up early morning at 4 am on the days the court was to hear my case. Every 15 days, I had to walk all the way to the court because I did not have the money to pay for bus or taxi," Selvaraj said. 

Explaining the struggle he took to travel to the courts, he further added, “I used to start early in the mornings when it was less hot. From Sonapur, I would walk to Al Qusais, then Al Nahda, the Airport Free Zone and from there on to Karama. I did not have money to buy a bus ticket or take the Metro. Nobody helped me, but I must have attended the court at least 20 times during the two years.”

Two years ago, Selvaraj’s mother died in an accident in Tiruchirapalli. As he was denied time off to attend her funeral, Sevaraj began his court journey and finally, he is now back home with the support of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.