Pahalgam aftermath: Supreme Court protects Jammu and Kashmir family facing deportation

The Supreme Court on Friday, 2 May, has asked authorities to not take coercive action such as deportation to Pakistan against six members of a family, who allegedly overstayed their visa, till an order is passed upon verification of their identity documents.

The family members are residents of Kashmir and their son works in Bengaluru. They are facing deportation to Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people lost their lives.

Observing that the issue involves a human angle, a bench of justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh gave the family the liberty to approach the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in case they are aggrieved by the document verification order.

The top court was hearing a plea by Ahmed Tarek Butt and his five family members who claimed they were detained and taken to the Wagah border for deportation to Pakistan despite having valid Indian documents.

The bench noted that following the Pahalgam attack, the Centre in a notification dated 25 April has revoked the visa of Pakistani nationals except for those provided in the order itself and gave a specific timeline for their deportation.