20 hours ago
J&K high court directs Centre to bring back woman deported to Pakistan
The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has instructed the Union home ministry to repatriate a 63-year-old woman, who was deported to Pakistan, following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The woman, Rakshanda Rashid, had been residing in India for 38 years on a long-term visa (LTV). The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has instructed the Union home ministry to repatriate a 63-year-old woman, who was deported to Pakistan, following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
The court observed that the case was rare and merited immediate action. The order, dated June 6, directs the home ministry to allow her return within 10 days and file a compliance report on July 1.
The petition was moved by her daughter, Falak Zahoor. Her husband, Sheikh Zahoor Ahmed, informed the court that Rakshanda is ill and has no one in Pakistan to look after her. Justice Rahul Bharti, who gave the order, said that human rights have to be preserved at all costs. The court also challenged the legality of her deportation and granted her facilitation to return on humanitarian grounds.
In a two-page order, the court said that Ahmed had claimed that his wife is suffering from multiple ailments and her life is at risk as she has to fend for herself. 'Human rights are the most sacrosanct commitment to human life and, therefore, are occasions when a constitutional court is supposed to come up with SOS like indulgence notwithstanding the merits and demerits of a case which can be adjudicated only upon in due course of time and therefore, this court is coming up with a direction to the ministry of home affairs, Government of India to bring back the petitioner from her deportation,' read the order.
'Given the exceptional nature of facts and circumstances of the case, this court is constrained to direct the secretary, ministry of home affairs, to retrieve the petitioner and facilitate the reunion of the petitioner with her husband in Jammu,' it said.
The case has been listed for July 1.
After the killing of 26 people, most of them tourists, in Pahalgam on April 22, the government deported dozens of people staying in Jammu and Kashmir on long-term visa. However, many people have now approached the court to seek relief, particularly those who have been in J&K for decades.
