Extending the reprieve to 67-year-old Luciana, who was to be deported back by today, Justice Rajiv Shakdher asked the Centre not to send her back till the plea for extension of her multiple-entry visa is decided.
"The respondents are restrained from taking any coercive action against the petitioner till her application for extension/regularisation of X-entry (multiple) visa is decided by the Ministry of Home Affairs," said the court.
Luciana, who came to India on January 18, 1999 on a tourist visa has devoted her life to Shri Satya Sai Baba and has been living at Puttaparthy in Andhra Pradesh.
Luciana's visa expired on July 17 this year and her subsequent representation for its extension has been pending decision with the MHA, her counsel Biswajeet Swain told the court.
Disposing of Luciana's plea, Justice Shakdher, however, made it clear to her to leave the country within two weeks if her plea for extension of visa is not allowed.
The tourist visa of unmarried Italian, who came to India in 1999, was later converted into the X-entry visa by the MHA which allowed her prolonged stay here till July 17, the petition said.
The woman, who moved the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) at Bangalore on July 12 this year, was asked to submit her plea to FRRO in Andhra Pradesh which, in turn, rejected her plea saying a foreigner cannot be allowed to stay for more than five years in one stretch.