India rejects Australian court's order asking ex-envoy to pay compensation

India on Thursday strongly rejected an Australian court's ruling ordering former Indian high commissioner to Canberra Navdeep Singh Suri to pay a former domestic employee thousands of dollars in compensation after she accused him of unfair working conditions and exploitation. Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said the Australian authorities do not have any locus standi to adjudicate on matters concerning India-based service staff of its high commission and called on Canberra to uphold its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Justice Elizabeth Raper of the federal court had ordered Suri to pay Seema Sherghill more than 136,000 dollars plus interest, within 60 days after she alleged that she was forced to work in unfair conditions, Australian media reported on Sunday. In his weekly media briefing, Bagchi said the service staff "wilfully deserted" her post in May 2016, a day before her scheduled return to India and .

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