Agents who dupe poor with promises of a future abroad devalue Indian passport, says Supreme Court

A view of the Supreme Court of India, in New Delhi. | Photo Credit: ANI

The Supreme Court on Monday (June 16, 2025) orally observed that agents who dupe “poor and gullible” people with dreams of a future in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom by promising to smuggle them in through the “donkey routes” devalue the Indian passport.

“Have you seen these poor, gullible people being brought back in chains? Because of people like you, the Indian passport is devalued,” a Bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan addressed a counsel, who appeared for an agent accused of tricking people off their money by promising them a career abroad.

The lawyer had sought anticipatory bail for the agent.

“Look at the donkey route… Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, Chile… Looks like the whole of the Americas…” Justice Manmohan remarked.

What is a donkey route?

“Donkey route” or “Donkey journey” refers to an illegal method of migration, usually used to enter countries like the United States or the United Kingdom. The process involves utilising human smugglers and navigating through various countries, often facing harsh and dangerous conditions, to bypass legal immigration processes.

The Bench termed the allegations “very serious” and refused to entertain the anticipatory bail plea of Om Prakash, who hails from Haryana.

Prakash, the FIR alleged, was an accomplice to the main accused, who was working as an agent and had assured the complainant that he would send him to the U.S. through valid means on the payment of ₹43 lakh.

The main accused sent the complainant to Dubai in September 2024, and from there to different countries, then to the forests of Panama, and then to Mexico. On February 1, main accused’s agents made the complainant cross the U.S. border. The complainant was arrested by the U.S. Police, jailed and deported to India on February 16.

Published - June 17, 2025 08:33 am IST