The petitioner claimed that the State cannot curtail her free movement even after grant of bail.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO
A 30-year-old Iranian woman, reportedly born in a Zoroastrian family but forced to practice Islam in her country before converting to Christianity, has approached the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Chennai to explain to her the procedure for obtaining X-Miscellaneous Visa so that she could step out of a special camp for foreigners in Tiruchi.
Pegah Ansari, daughter of Ansari Shapour, told the court that she was born and raised in a Zoroastrian family in Tehran. Claiming that all citizens at birth get registered as Muslims, irrespective of their actual religious background or personal faith, in her country; the petitioner said: “As a result, despite being born into a Zoroastrian family, I was officially recorded as a Muslim in government records.”
She went on to state: “Throughout my life in Iran, I lived under constant fear of persecution on account of my religious beliefs and personal convictions. Over time, I came to believe in and follow the teachings of Christianity. Due to the strict restrictions imposed on religious conversion in Iran, I was compelled to practice and profess my Christian faith only in private and in secrecy.”
Ms. Ansari said, she had no other option but to flee her country in 2019 because her private conversion to Christianity came to the notice of the authorities in Iran where she faced a genuine and imminent threat of persecution, harassment and possible arrest. She flew first to Georgia and underwent conversion through appropriate religious process. She resided there till 2022.
Her second stop was Sri Lanka where stayed approximately for a month before flying down to India on a one-month-long tourist visa in April 2022. “I came to India in search of safety, stability, and the freedom to live without fear of religious persecution,” the petitioner said and claimed to have obtained refugee status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in March 2025.
She said, the Anjugramam police in Kanniyakumari district had arrested her on December 10, 2025 when she had gone to a resort over there for decorating the venue of a birthday party. The charge levelled against her was that she had overstayed in India despite the expiry of her tourist visa on May 12, 2022. The police personnel also found that the petitioner’s Iranian passport had expired on February 17, 2024.
The petitioner was lodged at the women’s prison at Puzhal near Chennai until the Kanniyakumari Principal District and Sessions Court granted her bail on January 29, 2026. Thereafter, the petitioner was shifted to the Tiruchi special camp for foreigners on the basis of a December 23, 2025 Government Order which authorised her detention in the camp until the disposal of the criminal case or her deportation.
Claiming that the State could not curtail her free movement even after grant of bail, the petitioner said, she would be able to approach the appropriate authorities for getting relocated to some other country only if she was allowed to move freely without being confined to the boundaries of the special camp. The petitioner wanted to know the procedure for obtaining the visa required to face court proceedings.
The petitioner said that she had made a representation in this regard to the FRRO on June 25, 2026 but complained that the officer did not respond.
Published – November 04, 2026 02:13 am IST
