J&K HC Seeks Update On Retrieval Of Rajouri Man Deported To Pakistan After Pahalgam Attack

News india J&K HC Seeks Update On Retrieval Of Rajouri Man Deported To Pakistan After Pahalgam Attack

Last Updated:October 31, 2026, 13:34 IST

In its earlier judgment in March, the court had directed the home ministry to consider retrieving the man so that he could pursue extension of long-term visa and Indian citizenship

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has sought an update from the Rajouri district administration on the steps taken to bring back a man from Pakistan, nearly seven months it directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to consider his retrieval to India on humanitarian grounds.

On October 28, Justice Rahul Bharti, while hearing a contempt petition filed by Sajjad Ahmed – a resident of Rajnagar in Rajouri district – called upon senior additional advocate general Monika Kohli to apprise the court of the latest inputs available with the Rajouri district magistrate regarding compliance with its judgment dated March 25, 2026.

The petition concerns Ahmed’s son, Aasim Sajjad alias Fardin Sajjad, who was deported to Pakistan in April 2025 amid heightened tensions between the two countries following the Pahalgam terror attack.

“This Court calls upon Mrs Monika Kohli, learned Sr AAG representing the District Magistrate, Rajouri to apprise this Court about latest inputs available at the end of the respondent No. 5-District Magistrate, Rajouri in the matter of carrying out the compliance of the writ court’s direction as given in judgment dated 25.03.2026," the latest order states.

The court directed that the requisite status be placed before it on the next date of hearing and listed the matter for November 2.

In its earlier judgment in March, Justice MA Chowdhary had directed the home ministry to consider retrieving Aasim Sajjad alias Fardin Sajjad from Pakistan to enable him to pursue his applications for an extension of his long-term visa and Indian citizenship under Section 5(1)(d) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The court had asked the ministry to undertake the exercise expeditiously, preferably within eight weeks keeping in view the humanitarian aspects of the case.

The case dates back to 2005, when Ahmed travelled to Pakistan to visit relatives and married Shabnam Kouser in Gujranwala. Their son, Fardin Sajjad, was born in Pakistan in October 2006.

The mother and child came to India in 2007 on valid Pakistani documents. Kouser was subsequently granted extensions of her visa on marriage grounds. Following her death in 2013, Ahmed continued to seek extensions of stay for his son and eventually applied for Indian citizenship on his behalf.

The court, in its March judgment, noted that the man had lived with his father in Rajouri, studied in India from 2007 to 2025 and passed Class 12. It also noted that after his mother’s death, he had no immediate family in Pakistan except a maternal aunt who was a widow and struggling to make ends meet.

Ahmed had alleged that police personnel took his son from their residence around 4 am on April 29, 2025, and deported him to Pakistan through the Wagah border. The authorities, however, said the man was a Pakistani national whose visa had expired and that his deportation was carried out in exercise of the government’s sovereign powers to regulate the entry, stay and departure of foreign nationals.

The high court, while considering the humanitarian circumstances, had observed that the case stemmed from the tragedy of Partition, which had divided families across the two countries.

“In view of the sacrosanct human values and rights, the court must step in to pass certain directions," Justice Chowdhary had observed.

The court had, accordingly, directed the home ministry to consider his retrieval so that he could pursue his pending applications for a long-term visa and Indian citizenship.  The matter will now come up before the court on November 2, when the Rajouri district administration is expected to inform on the progress made in implementing the earlier judgment.

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Ieshan Wani

Ieshan Wani, senior correspondent, CNN-News18, has over eight years of experience in reporting, producing and editing news for broadcast, digital and print platforms. His reporting has mostly been fro...Read More

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