Supreme Court Halts Deportation of PoK-Born Man and Family Holding Indian Documents
The Supreme Court of India has granted interim relief to a family facing deportation to Pakistan, despite possessing valid Indian documents such as passports, Aadhaar cards, and voter identification. The top court stayed the move to deport six members of the family, alleged to be Pakistani nationals, following a government directive issued in the aftermath of the recent Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
The petitioner, Ahmed Tariq Butt, a resident of Bengaluru, told the court that his family was being forcibly taken to the Attari-Wagah border for deportation. Butt, who was born in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), claimed that he and his family are Indian citizens and that their documents were issued by Indian authorities, including the Ministry of External Affairs.
“We are a total of six members in the same family. Two brothers work in Bangalore. Our parents, sister, and another brother are in Srinagar,” Butt stated in the petition.
According to the petition, Butt’s father is originally from Mirpur, PoK, while his mother was born in Srinagar. The family lived in Mirpur until 1997, when they crossed into India and eventually settled in Srinagar. Butt later moved to Bengaluru, earned a management degree from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode, and currently works in an IT company.
The petition names other family members, including his sister Ayesha Tariq and brothers Abubakar Tariq and Umar Tariq Butt, all of whom reportedly hold Indian passports listing Srinagar as their place of birth.
Butt alleged that the Foreigners’ Regional Officer (FRO) had incorrectly claimed the family entered India on short-term Pakistani visas and had overstayed after their expiry. The FRO’s claim forms the basis for the deportation order. However, Butt vehemently denied the accusation, asserting that neither he nor his family members were ever Pakistani nationals, nor had they ever entered India on Pakistani visas.
The Supreme Court, while granting a temporary stay on the deportation, directed the petitioners to present their case to the appropriate authorities for review. The court’s intervention came amid heightened scrutiny of individuals with Pakistani links following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
In the wake of the attack, the central government had issued a directive ordering all Pakistani nationals residing in India on short-term visas to leave immediately or face deportation.
Legal experts believe this case could set an important precedent regarding citizenship and the rights of individuals from regions like PoK who have lived in India for decades and hold official Indian documentation.
The matter is expected to be reviewed further in the coming weeks, with the Supreme Court likely to monitor the actions taken by authorities during the interim period.
IT.
