In a significant order, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has temporarily stayed the deportation of Iftkhar Ali, a former police constable, along with his family, citing credible evidence of their long-standing residence in Jammu & Kashmir and his 26 years of service in the Indian Reserve Police.
Justice Rahul Bharti of the High Court passed the interim order on April 29, 2025, while hearing WP(C) No. 1065/2025 filed by Iftkhar Ali and others, who are the children of the late Faqur Din. The petitioners argued that they have deep-rooted connections in the Salwah village of Mendhar tehsil in Poonch district, and any move to deport them to Pakistan is both unjustified and unconstitutional.
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“The petitioners are bona fide residents of J&K belonging to district Poonch and thus not amenable to be forced out of India in the manner as is intended to be done,”
– Justice Rahul Bharti, High Court of J&K and Ladakh
The petitioners submitted revenue documents like khasra girdawaris from 2014, 2019, and 2021, showing that they or their father have been in cultivating possession of land in Salwah. The Court took these documents on record to support their claim of being permanent settlers.
Significantly, petitioner Iftkhar Ali was employed as a constable in the Indian Reserve Police (IRP). His service was validated by submitting Order No. 475 of 2021 dated 12.04.2021, confirming his identity under Belt No. 697/R (now 589/KTR) with PID No. EXJ-976975, issued by the Zonal Police Headquarters, Jammu.
“Petitioner No. 1 has served as a police constable, and has been subjected to departmental proceedings – this confirms his status as an employee of the Indian state,”
– Observation during the court hearing
The petition also highlighted that their late father had earlier approached the court in OWP No. 682/1993 seeking citizenship rights, followed by a second writ petition in 2005, further proving the family’s legal presence in India since the 1980s—not as infiltrators but through documented returns and official recognition.
The government, however, had initiated deportation proceedings, arguing the family were Pakistani nationals. The family was detained and taken to Attari for deportation purposes. The court, in response, noted that:
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“Petitioners No. 1 to 4 are married with families in India, and yet only they are being detained while no such action has been taken against their spouses.”
Considering all these facts, the Court issued a direction preventing any forced deportation until the matter is fully heard. It also directed the Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, to file an affidavit clarifying the ownership or possession of land by the petitioners or through their father in Salwah, Mendhar tehsil.
“Meanwhile, petitioners be not asked or forced to leave UT of Jammu & Kashmir,”
– High Court Direction dated 29.04.2025
The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for May 20, 2025. The respondents, including the Union of India, have been given two weeks to file their reply.
This case underlines the critical role of judicial scrutiny in safeguarding individual rights, especially in cases where administrative actions intersect with fundamental rights and long-standing community ties.
APPEARANCE:
Mohd. Latif Malik, Advocate for Petitioner
Vishal Sharma, DSGI, Monika Kohli, Sr. AAG for Respondents
Case-Title: Iftikhar Ali vs UT of J&K, 2025
