“I have been making use of the services of the embassy translator for the past four years and it has helped me a lot. Now the Supreme Court is saying I have to appoint a Saudi lawyer in accordance with a new rule issued by the Foreign Ministry,” said Mustafa Keethadath.

Mustafa had won a verdict in his favor from a Jeddah court in 2008 when the court asked his sponsor to pay SR72,326 in salary dues and transfer his sponsorship within a month. But the sponsor appealed against the verdict and the plea was admitted by the Supreme Court in Riyadh.

The court’s instruction to appoint a Saudi lawyer has disappointed Mustafa, who has been living in the Kingdom with his family and is in financial difficulties.

He is also facing another hurdle. “When I approached the notary public to issue a power of attorney, he said I was not entitled to do it because my iqama had expired. Actually, I approached the court to get my financial rights as well as to get my iqama renewed,” he pointed out.

Mustafa, who has not traveled to India for eight years, is planning to approach the Jeddah governorate to get his iqama renewed.

He thanked India’s Welfare Consul P.K. Mishra and translator Naseem Ahmed for their support.

Meanwhile, he is seeking advice of experts to overcome the present problem.