The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh disposed of the writ petition, observing that in matters involving the separation of families and sacrosanct human values, the court must step in and directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to retrieve the youth from Pakistan.
The case arose from the deportation of the son of the petitioner, who was born in Pakistan in 2006 from the wedlock of the petitioner and his spouse, a citizen of Pakistan. The child had moved to India on a valid visa in 2007. After the death of his mother in India in 2013, the child remained under the care of his father, and his citizenship was extended till 2015. Thereafter, the petitioner has moved several applications before the authority to seek citizenship or for extension of visa, but none of the issues were addressed. Suddenly on April 25, 2025, personnel of J&K police forcibly took his son from their house and deported him to Pakistan via the Wagah Border without any information or copy of the deportation order.
Opposing the petition, the respondent vehemently argued that the deportation was a valid exercise of sovereign power as the individual was staying in the country without a valid visa. They further argued that the Leave India Notice had been served and the online citizenship portal of the Ministry of Home Affairs had displayed the status of the application as ‘not received yet.’
Hearing the petition, the bench of Justice M.A. Chowdhary noted the tragic history of 1947 partitioned families, observing that the youth had lived a normal life in India from 2007 to 2025 and passed 12th class studying in the country. The Court has also noted that the child is left with no family member in Pakistan after his mother’s demise. Relying on Rakshanda Rashid through Falak Zahoor Vs. UOI & Ors. (WP(C) No. 1072/2025), where the court has intervened in a similar situation of deportation, the court emphasized the need to address the human aspect of the conflict.
Upon finding that the petitioner had filed for citizenship and visa extension periodically, the court held that ongoing hostilities, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, should not result in a child being stuck in a conflict zone.
Accordingly, the court directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to retrieve the petitioner’s son to pursue his application for extension of long-term visa and citizenship and to grant the citizenship to the petitioner’s son, stipulating that the aforesaid exercise shall be carried out expeditiously, preferably within eight weeks.
Appearance:
For Petitioner- Mr. Aseem Sawhney, Sr. Adv. Mr. Mohd. Shabab Malik, Ms. Tehseena Bukhari, Mr. Mohd. Kashif Malik, Ms. Khushboo Sharma, Mr. Anil Kumar & Ms. Aafia Malik, Advocates.
For Respondents- Mr. Mr. Vishal Sharma, DSGI Mr. Eishan Dadhichi, CGSC Mr. Karan Sharma, CGSC. Ms. Monika Kohli, Sr. AAG
