In a significant humanitarian intervention, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has directed the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to repatriate a 63-year-old woman who was deported to Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
The court observed that the woman, Rakshanda Rashid, had been residing in India for nearly 40 years and held a Long-Term Visa (LTV) at the time of her deportation. Citing the exceptional nature of the case, the High Court ordered that she be brought back to India within 10 days from the date of the order, June 6. The matter has been listed for compliance on July 1.
‘Human Rights Are Sacrosanct’: High Court
Justice Rahul Bharti, who presided over the matter, emphasized the primacy of human rights in the court’s decision, stating:
“Human rights are the most sacrosanct component of a human life… there are occasions when a constitutional court is supposed to come up with SOS-like indulgence notwithstanding the merits and demerits of a case.”
The order came in response to a writ petition filed by her daughter, Falak Zahoor, seeking the court’s urgent intervention to bring her mother back to India.
Woman Deported Despite Holding Long-Term Visa
The Court took serious note of the fact that Rakshanda Rashid held an LTV, which allows foreign nationals to stay in India for extended periods under humanitarian grounds. It observed that her deportation lacked due process and might not have been justified.
“The petitioner was having LTV status at the relevant point of time which per-se may not have warranted her deportation,” the court remarked, adding that no formal deportation order was produced by the authorities before forcing her out of the country.
Family Appeals for Compassion Amid Health Concerns
The petitioner’s husband, Sheikh Zahoor Ahmed, informed the court that Rakshanda Rashid suffers from multiple health issues and has no family or support system in Pakistan. Given her fragile condition, her deportation has placed her at extreme risk, the family argued.
The court responded with strong words, noting the urgent humanitarian angle of the case and the constitutional responsibility of Indian authorities:
“This Court is coming up with a direction to the Ministry of Home Affairs… to bring back the petitioner from her deportation.”
