Jammu Kashmir High Court Upholds Deportation of Pakistani Couple Residing in Kashmir Since 1988

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has dismissed a decades-old petition, upholding the deportation order against a Pakistani couple who had been residing in Srinagar since 1988. On May 9, 2025, Justice Sindhu Sharma ruled that Mohammad Khalil Qazi and his wife, Arifa Qazi, ceased to be Indian citizens upon voluntarily acquiring Pakistani citizenship, despite their Indian roots and long-term stay in the region.

The case, Mohd Khalil Qazi and anr v. State of Jammu & Kashmir and anr, cantered on the couple’s challenge to a 1989 deportation order, which had been stayed by the High Court in 1990, allowing them to remain in Srinagar. Justice Sharma, in her judgment, heavily relied on Section 9(1) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which stipulates that any Indian citizen who voluntarily acquires citizenship of another country automatically loses their Indian citizenship.

Mohammad Khalil Qazi, born in Srinagar in 1945, became stranded in Pakistan during the 1947 partition while his father was engaged in business in Rawalpindi. He subsequently acquired Pakistani nationality. His wife, Arifa Qazi, born in Srinagar in 1962, held an Indian passport before marrying Khalil in Rawalpindi in December 1986, after which she also acquired Pakistani citizenship.

The couple, along with their minor son, arrived in India in July 1988 on Pakistani passports and were initially granted three 30-day visa extensions. They later sought further extensions and applied for the resumption of their Indian citizenship, citing their permanent resident status and the involuntary circumstances that led to their Pakistani nationality. However, their requests for an extension were rejected, and the deportation order was issued in 1989.

The petitioners argued that their acquisition of Pakistani citizenship was compelled by circumstances beyond their control and that they should be allowed to resume their Indian citizenship. They contended that the deportation action was arbitrary and violated Article 14 of the Constitution of India, as well as principles of natural justice.

The High Court, however, rejected these arguments. The judgment stated, “The petitioners have acted in their own volition acquired the citizenship of a foreign Country. Their passports and the residential permit issued in their favour are cogent, unequivocal evidence of the fact that the petitioners are not citizens of India and, as such, orders to deport them were valid”. The Court further noted that there was no documentary proof that their requests for Indian citizenship had been accepted, nor had they formally applied under the Citizenship Act.

Given that the petitioners had been residing in Srinagar on the strength of the stay order since 1988 and had not presented any evidence of Indian citizenship during this period, the High Court dismissed their petition.

Advocate Mohammad Altaf Khan with Advocate Hashir Shafiq represented the petitioners, while Senior Additional Advocate General (AAG) Mohsin Qadri with Assisting Counsel Maha Majeed, and Deputy Solicitor General of India TM Shamsi with Assisting Counsel Sahila Nissar appeared for the respondent-authorities.