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The Karnataka High Court recently refused bail to a Cameroon national booked for overstaying in the country and impersonation. 

Justice K Natarajan of the High Court noted that the petitioner had stayed at the Marriott Hotel in Whitefield last year using a different name, as per the records placed before him.

The court further noted that the petitioner had not even applied for an extension of his visa, even though it had expired on January 6, 2021.
The Court was hearing a plea moved by Nkoa Theodore, a resident of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé who had sought for bail in a case registered by the Whitefield police for offences punishable under the Sections 419 and 420 (cheating by impersonation and cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, for overstaying in the country. 
Since the petitioner impersonated another person and produced false documents, he is not entitled for bail, opined the Court. 

"The investigation has been completed. There is a prima facie case against the petitioner. He has impersonated the name of a person and produced false documents and stayed in the hotel even though his passport has expired. Such being the case, if the petitioner is granted bail, the possibility of him absconding from the case and fleeing away from justice is not ruled out. Therefore, the petitioner is not entitled for bail," the court said, in this regard. 

The petitioner had contended that he was undergoing medical treatment amid the Covid-19 lockdown and therefore, he was unable to renew his visa.

Case Name: Nkoa Theodore vs State of Karnataka