The Office of the Home Affairs Minister, Hon. Leon Amos Schreiber

Director General Home Affairs Pretoria and

Chief Executive Officer Home Affairs Umgeni Road 

Durban


Case No D1902/2023

Heard in the High Court of South Africa 

Kwa Zulu Natal  Local Division 

Durban 


Sridhar Thugaram vs Home Affairs Minister


Dear Sir ,

I am referring the above matter to you for your urgent attention .


1. A general work permit was obtained from the South African embassy ,New Delhi on the 4th of December 2013 to 3rd December 2016 for Mr Sridhar Thugaram to be employed as a high Priest for the Stri Varadharaja Perumal Alayam (Narainsamy Temple  ,984 Newlands  West ,Durban ).


2.In 2016 application for extension of a work permit was made .The waiver was granted by the home affairs office as regards certain rules and regulations pertaining to a Hindu Priest .The new general work permit was granted from the 27th of March 2018 until 26th  of March 2021.


3. In February 2021 application for extension of the work permit was made approximately 6 weeks prior to expiry date .He was informed that he must apply  for a new waiver (which rules and regulations  were same as granted in 2017) .It is my opinion that they should have only asked him to apply for extension of his work permit as his waiver was already granted in 2017 .


4. Due to  the Covid Pandemic , his reply regarding the waiver that they requested him to apply for arrived in May 2022 .When he went to home affairs department in Umgeni Road Durban

he was informed that his waiver was refused  and was informed that he is now an illegal citizen and was held in custody to be deported .


5.I then urgently went to home affairs department and sort the assistance of a legal team to ensure he was not deported as his services as a priest was required for a large community .The temple is approximately 130 years old and is a National Monument and AMAFA site of South Africa.


6. An urgent interdict was made against  the department of home affairs  regarding the deportation in June and the case commenced in February 2023 and ended in September 2023.The Durban high court granted relief to the priest with cost against the Minister of Home Affairs .The sitting judge requested the department of home affairs to expeditiously attend to the matter and grant what he had applied for .Unfortunately in spite  of the department  of home affairs  being contacted personally  by  the temple attorney Mr Deker Govender   regarding the matter in Durban  , no progress has been made regarding the outcome .He even issued  a letter stating a deadline date  of 25th April 2024.


7. As a responsible citizen of South Africa and the managing  trustee of the temple and medical doctor  , I am humbly requesting your assistance to amicably reach a settlement regarding the priest work permit  so that he can continue servicing  the large community in Durban .I have received a letter this week from his family in India that his mother and wife are not well and they are concerned he has not visited them in the last 5 years .


8.I am writing to you as a last resort to try and avoid seeking the courts assistance again by issuing a contempt of court order against the department of home affairs.  I therefore hope that with your kind assistance that this matter can reach a settlement .


9.Kindly note that i am a medical doctor  and i qualified at the University of Natal in 1977 as a doctor and Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma  was my classmate and the minister Mr Aaron Motsoaledi is known to me .I humbly seek your assistance as we have reached a dead end .


10.Kindly refer  letter from family  deadline from attorney  and  court orders  attached .


Many Thanks ,

Dr SC Moodley (0823767290)

Trustee (Narainsamy Temple)

Chairperson (Durban Obstetricians and Gynae