Government order due to security concerns: Court rejects Pak woman's visa plea
The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to entertain a petition filed by a Pakistani national married to an Indian citizen, who sought the consideration of her Long-Term Visa application in view of the government cancelling stays of Pakistanis in India post the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The plea, according to sources, also sought directions to prevent the revocation of the residential permit of the woman, identified as Sheena Naz.advertisementNaz, who sought the consideration of her Long-Term Visa application submitted on April 23, 2025, in light of the court's disinclination, withdrew her petition.
The court, addressing the matter, noted that the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued an order on April 25, 2025, suspending visa services for Pakistani nationals. The bench observed that, on a prima facie basis, this order did not warrant judicial review, as it was driven by serious national security concerns."The aforesaid order (of Centre) has resulted in the revocation of the petitioner's visa and also inhibits processing of the petitioner's application (dated 23.04.2025) seeking Long-Term Visa," the court said in its order."The petitioner essentially seeks to circumvent the consequence/s flowing from the aforesaid order dated 25.04.2025. Prima facie, the aforesaid order issued under Section 3(1) of the Foreigners Act, 1946 does not warrant any judicial review given that the issuance of the same was impelled by serious national security considerations," it observed.advertisementThe court pointed out that the order, issued under Section 3(1) of the Foreigners Act, 1946, was not subject to judicial scrutiny and emphasised that it was beyond the court's jurisdiction to carve out exceptions to the order.Naz had applied for a Long-Term Visa with the Bureau of Immigration, but the government's recent directive led to the revocation of her visa and halted the processing of her application.Tune InMust Watch
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