• Source:JND
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The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Thursday stayed the deportation of four members of family including a constable from the Indian Reserve Police (IRP), who faced deportation from India over allegations of being Pakistani nationals.

 The Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, the Union government suspended visa services for Pakistani nationals and ordered them to leave India by April 27.

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The four petitioners before the court said that they would be forced to leave India due to allegations of being Pakistani nationals, claims they firmly denied, asserting instead that they are bona fide residents of the Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir. 

Justice Rahul Bharti on April 29 noted that there was enough evidence, including revenue documents and police service records, to establish a prima facie case in favor of the petitioners, according to the Bar and Bench report. 

Accordingly, the court temporarily halted any efforts to deport the petitioners from India, while noting that this order would remain subject to any objections raised by the government.

"Prima facie case is made out. List on 20.05.2025 ... Meanwhile, petitioners are not asked or forced to leave UT of Jammu & Kashmir. This direction is, however, subject to objections from the other side," the Court's order said, as per the Bar and Bench report. 

The petitioners, all belonging to the same family from Salwah village in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district, had approached the High Court after being detained and threatened with imminent expulsion from India. One of them, Iftkhar Ali, serves as a constable in the Indian Reserve Police.

The petitioners informed the High Court that they had been living in India for several decades and held land revenue records dating as far back as 2014.

They asserted that they were being unjustly targeted based on allegations of being “Pakistani nationals,” despite being fully integrated into Indian society, with established families, property ownership, and employment in government service.

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Finding prima facie merit in these arguments, the Court directed that the petitioners should not be compelled to leave the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir until further orders.

The court also directed the Deputy Commissioner of Poonch to submit a detailed affidavit concerning the petitioner's landholding and their statues in the village. The respondent authorities have been two weeks to file their replies, and the matter is scheduled for the next hearing on May 20.