The case of jailed North Yorkshire arms dealer Peter Bleach is now likely to be resolved by the middle of next month.
The Foreign Office had hoped a decision from the Indian Government on a petition demanding Bleach's release would come as early as this week.
However, July 15 is now looking a likely date for a decision on the former pupil of St Peter's School, York, who lived in Fylingthorpe, near Whitby.
Bleach has spent more than six years in a Calcutta jail following his part in an arms drop in West Bengal.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said that a final deadline for the decision of the Indian Government had now been set at July 15.
This news was confirmed by Richard Stansfield, a friend of Bleach, who was told by a contact in India that the Indian Government had to either release him by July 15 or explain their reasons for not doing so.
Updated: 08:43 Tuesday, June 19, 2001
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