Coming to the rescue of a Pakistani woman who had been directed by the Ministry of Home Affairs to leave the country by February 23, the Delhi High Court Friday directed the Centre to not take any coercive steps against her till next week.

The 37-year-old woman had come to India in 2005 after marrying an Indian man. She has been residing in Delhi with her husband and two minor sons -- aged 11 and 5 years.

On February 8, the woman had received a 'leave India notice' from the ministry, directing her to leave the country within 15 days.

The notice stated that if she failed to leave India within the stipulated time, action will be taken against her as per law and her entry into the country will be barred in future.

The woman and her husband moved the high court seeking a direction to quash the Centre's notice dated February 7.

Justice Vibhu Bakhru directed the authorities not to take any coercive steps against the woman till February 28, the next date of hearing.

The Centre was represented by advocate Anurag Ahluwalia.

The woman, in her plea, said she was granted long term visa which was valid from June 2015 to June 2020.

She said she has been living in the city since her wedding but "due to the unlawful action of the respondents, rights, title and interests of the petitioners have been jeopardised without any fault of theirs".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)