The Supreme Court, on Friday, came to the rescue of six members of a family who allegedly overstayed their visa by directing the authorities not to take any coercive action till an order on verification of their identity document is done.
The top court was hearing a petition from Ahmed Tarek Butt and his five family members, who alleged they were detained and transported to the Wagah border for deportation to Pakistan, despite possessing valid Indian identity documents.
The family, led by Ahmed Tarek Butt, a Bengaluru-based professional, faced expulsion following allegations of overstaying their visas—a charge compounded by the tense aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.
The attack had inflamed diplomatic relations, prompting India to revoke visas for Pakistani nationals.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh acknowledged the human angle in the case and gave the family the liberty to approach the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in case they are aggrieved by the document verification order.
The petitioner claimed to hold Indian passports and Aadhaar cards, leading the Supreme Court to order authorities to verify all documents presented in court.
The petitioner argued that the notice unfoundedly alleged he and his family illegally entered India in 1997 and were required to leave upon visa expiration, based on the assumption they were Pakistani nationals.
This interim relief was a lifeline, sparing them from being forcibly escorted to the Wagah border, where 786 Pakistani nationals had already crossed in the past six days.
The plea stated that they lived in Mirpur, located in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), until 1997 before moving to Srinagar. He completed his schooling in Srinagar before shifting to Bengaluru in 2009 for higher studies.
According to the plea, "On April 29, the Jammu and Kashmir Police allegedly detained the petitioner’s father, mother, sister, and brother around 9 pm. The following day, by approximately 12:20 pm, they were taken to the India-Pakistan border and compelled to leave the country."
The petition also stated that the Foreigners' Regional Officer (FRO) erroneously alleged the family entered India in 1997 on Pakistani visas and were obligated to depart after their visas expired. The petitioner refuted this, asserting they were never Pakistani nationals and had not entered India on any visa.