New Delhi: A petition has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to make arrangements to bring back 18 medical professionals, who are pregnant women, stranded in Saudi Arabia due to coronavirus pandemic.

The plea, moved through advocate Jose Abraham ,sought a direction to the Indian Embassy at Riyadh to ensure the pregnant medical professionals, including one doctor, get the required medical support and also access to proper medical facilities until they are repatriated to India. The plea contended that the petitioners had planned to come back to India on various dates in the month of March and April for their delivery.

"However, due to the closure of the airports in India for flights from abroad, the flights which they had booked tickets for much earlier got cancelled. Because of which all the petitioners are stuck in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and are living in vulnerable conditions which is fatal for both the unborn child and the mother."

The plea argued that the petitioners are in the advanced stage of pregnancy and they need to travel back to India before they are in their 36th week of gestation.

The plea submitted that petitioners, hailing from Kerala, are in Saudi Arabia without family and they are facing many issues. It claimed many hospitals in Saudi Arabia have been converted into Covid-19 treatment centres and the petitioners are also not in a financial position to afford to go to private hospitals for treatment.

"So without any source of income, it has become difficult for them to afford to pay for their food, essential medicines and other expenses they might incur during delivery of the child," said the plea.