UP man moves Delhi HC seeking MEA's response on daughter's death sentence in UAE

A man approached the Delhi High Court seeking a direction from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to ascertain the exact legal status of his 33-year-old daughter, Shahzadi Khan, who is facing a death sentence in the UAE.

The woman caregiver, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Banda district, was sentenced to death by an Abu Dhabi court for the death of a child under her care.

Shahzadi Khan was handed over to the Abu Dhabi police on February 10, 2023, and she was sentenced to death on July 31, 2023. She is currently imprisoned in the Al Wathba jail.

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Shabbir Khan's petition stated that his daughter travelled to Abu Dhabi in December 2021 after obtaining a legal visa. In August 2022, her employer gave birth to a son for whom his daughter was employed as a caregiver. On December 7, 2022, the infant received routine vaccinations and tragically passed away that evening, the petition stated.

The man also claimed that the infant's parents refused consent for a postmortem on the infant and also signed an agreement to waive further investigation into the death.

Khan also stated that a February 2023 video allegedly showing his daughter confessing to the child's homicide was misleading as it was extracted through torture and abuse by her employer and family.

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The man also alleged that the Indian Embassy's legal counsel pressured his daughter to confess to the homicide and denied her adequate representation. His daughter's appeal was dismissed in September 2023, and her sentence was upheld on February 28, 2024.

On July 11, 2024, he submitted a mercy petition to the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi but received no response. On February 14, 2025, Shabbir Khan received a call from his incarcerated daughter, hinting at her imminent execution. In response, he formally approached the Ministry of External Affairs on February 20, 2025, requesting an inquiry into her legal status and well-being. However, his plea in the Delhi High Court alleged that he had not received any response.

(With ANI inputs)