When a 35-year-old teacher arrived at Heathrow on 24 January 1979, she planned to marry her fiance, a British resident of Indian descent.

Instead she found herself at the centre of a "virginity testing" row that led to headlines in Britain and India, and an immediate debate over whether her experience was an isolated incident or general immigration practice.

Immigration rules at the time meant that a woman coming to Britain to marry a fiance did not need a visa if her wedding was to be held within three months.