NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday protected a family from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, from deportation till their claims of citizenship were verified.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh directed the Union government from taking any coercive action as they alleged apprehension of deportation after Union government's April 25 order revoking visa of Pakistani nationals.
The court asked the authorities of the central government to verify the Indian citizenship claims of six persons as they contended they have got Indian passports and Aadhaar cards.
The court said till the decision is taken, no coercive action be taken against the family.
The bench disposed of the petition with liberty to the petitioners to approach the High Court if they were aggrieved with the order of the authorities.
The petitioners claimed they were working in Bengaluru, and the others, parents and sisters, are in Srinagar. He said that the family members in Srinagar faced the threat of being thrown out of the country after moves initiated after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which claimed lives of 26 people.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, the petitioners should approach the authorities concerned.
Petitioner Ahmed Tariq Butt claimed his family consists of his father Tariq Mushkoor Butt, his mother Nusrat Butt, his elder sister Smt Aisha Tariq, his younger brother Abubakar Tarik Butt and another younger brother Umar Tariq Butt.
The family were residents of Mirpur till the year 1997. His father of the moved to the city of Srinagar from Mirpur in the year 1997. The other family members including the petitioner also moved to the city of Srinagar from Mirpur in the year 2000.
The plea claimed the petitioner and his family are all Indian Nationals and have Indian passports issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and are Indian citizens. The petitioner claimed he and his siblings all got educated in a private school in Srinagar.
The plea contended the petitioner's father, mother, sister and his younger brother were arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police on April 29, 2025 at around 9 PM illegally. They were taken to the India-Pakistan Border on April 30 2025 at around 12.20 PM and are at present being forced to leave India from the Border. Deportation is imminent even though they are Indian Nationals, the plea said.
The family members were issued notices by the FRO has illegally and baselessly claimed that the Petitioner No 1 and his family members have entered India in the year 1997 and there was an obligation to leave India on expiration of their visa on the premise that they are Pakistani Nationals.
