The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to grant relief to a 37-year-old Pakistani woman, against whom there are adverse security reports. The woman has been asked by the Central government to leave India within two weeks.
Justice Vibhu Bakhru rejected the woman’s plea challenging the government’s ‘leave India notice’ saying that under the principles of law she has no right to stay here.
The woman had come to India in 2005 after getting married to an Indian man. She has been residing in Delhi with her husband and two sons – aged 11 and 5.
Additional Solicitor General Maninder Acharya said there are adverse reports against the woman by security agencies and there was nothing illegal in the notice issued to her.
The High Court said it has perused the inputs available with the authorities and was unable to accept the woman’s contention that the government’s notice was arbitrary.
In terms of the ‘leave India notice’ issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the woman should have left the country by February 22.
The Bench, however, allowed her to leave the country within two weeks from Thursday.
The notice had 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 Central government’s notice dated February 7.
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 she got married, but “due to the unlawful action of the respondents, rights, title and interests of the petitioners have been jeopardised without any fault” of theirs.