Nick-of-time plea in SC by son in Bengaluru gives Kashmiri family reprieve from deportation to Pakistan
The Kashmiri family, who are all Indian passport holders, were issued a notice on April 25 by the Foreigners Registration Office in Srinagar stating that they were Pakistani nationals who had overstayed their visas and should leave the country immediately in the wake of the Indian government's post-Pahalgam terror attack orders.
The 70-year-old patriarch of the family, his wife, a son, and a daughter were arrested at around 9 pm on April 29 by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and were taken to the India border at around 12.20 pm the next day for deportation to Pakistan.
'The oldest son in the family, who has been living in Bengaluru for many years, approached us seeking legal intervention after his parents and two siblings had been arrested on April 29. We were able to file a petition in the Supreme Court the next day and get a hearing listed on May 1 due to the advances in usage of electronic systems by the court,' said Dr Nanda Kishore, the Supreme Court advocate and law professor in Bengaluru who represented the family.
The senior advocate who argued the matter through video conference on Friday said that the Foreigners Registration Office in Srinagar had erred in calling the family Pakistani nationals when they were holders of Indian passports.
'There seems to be some mistake that has occurred. When all the family members are holding Indian passports, how can they be called Pakistani nationals and deported overnight? This means it can happen to anyone with an Indian passport. There has to be a process of law that has to be followed even if there are doubts about a passport,' Nanda Kishore said.
The Bengaluru advocate was approached by the eldest son of the family, Ahmed Tariq Butt, 35, and the youngest son, who are both working in Bengaluru. 'Both the sons in Bengaluru are well educated and employed with multinational firms,' said the advocate for the family.
The deportation order meant that the lives of their family were going to be overturned overnight due to a mistake in recognising them as Pakistani nationals instead of Indian citizens, the advocate indicated.
When the order to leave India was issued, the family tried approaching the media to raise the issue, but there was no response on account of the prevailing atmosphere in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, the advocate said.
The family is reported to have moved from Mirpur in PoK to Srinagar in 1997, with the patriarch arriving first, followed by the rest of the family.
'The Petitioner No. 1 and his family members are law-abiding individuals who are Indian nationals, who have been living peacefully and contributing to society in their respective capacities,' the petition filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of the family stated.
According to the petition, the family has roots in India going back many generations, with a grandfather holding a voter ID card in the 1950s. The petition says that the patriarch of the family owns a house in Rawalpora, a plot in Barbarshah, and an apple orchard near Pattan in Srinagar.
'The Petitioner No. 1 submits that they have a legitimate expectation to continue residing in India, owing to their longstanding presence, familial ties, ongoing professional activities, and other socio-economic commitments. They were not given an opportunity to explain their situation or contest the allegations before the impugned notices were passed,' the plea said.
According to the petition, the two sons working in Bengaluru were also facing the threat of deportation with the Jammu and Kashmir Police asking the youngest son to reach Amritsar and also collecting the address details of Butt.
Following the Supreme Court order to the Government of India on Friday to verify all documents held by the family before deciding on deportation, Butt's parents and two siblings were being brought back to Srinagar, the family's advocate in Bengaluru said Friday.
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