Safiya Malik

The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir Single Bench of Justice Rahul Bharti has directed that the petitioners shall not be asked or forced to leave the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir until further orders. While issuing notice to the respondents, the Court took on record the petitioners’ documents indicating their long-standing settlement in the region and prima facie found merit in the case. The Court directed the respondents to file their replies within two weeks and further directed the Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, to submit an affidavit regarding the petitioners' property status.

The petitioners are members of a family whose deceased father, Faqur Ali alias Faqur Din, originally resided in village Salwah, tehsil Mendhar, district Poonch. They approached the Court stating they are facing the prospect of being forced out of the Union Territory and India on the pretext of being Pakistani citizens. The petitioners firmly contested this premise.

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In their pleadings, the petitioners referred to their respective places of birth. While some were born in Jammu and Kashmir, others were born at the Concentration Camp in Tralkhal, Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). To substantiate their claim of being bona fide residents, the petitioners placed reliance on revenue records relating to mauza Salwah, tehsil Mendhar, district Poonch. Khasra-girdawaris of the years 2014, 2019, and 2021 were produced to show their cultivating possession of land in the area through their father.

Petitioner No. 1, Iftkhar Ali, was specifically highlighted as being a Police Constable in the Indian Reserve Police (IRP). The petitioners submitted order No. 475 of 2021 dated 12.04.2021, showing his employment details and disciplinary proceedings before the Zonal Police Headquarters, Jammu, as evidence of his long-standing official status within India.

Further submissions indicated that the petitioners' father, Faqur Din, had earlier filed Writ Petition OWP No. 682/1993 before the High Court seeking citizenship rights. Later, the petitioners themselves filed Writ Petition OWP No. 284/2005, thereby asserting that their presence in India was longstanding and not clandestine.

Additionally, the petitioners stated that Nos. 1 to 4 are married with families, and no order has been passed for the ouster of their wives and children. However, the petitioners alone were being detained with the intent to expel them from India despite being settled in Poonch for a considerable time.

The revenue documents submitted were taken on record by the Court for confirmation of the petitioners' submissions. The documents were noted to prima facie establish their claim as bona fide residents of Jammu & Kashmir belonging to district Poonch. Based on these submissions and records, the petitioners contended they could not be forced out of India in the manner proposed.

The Court examined the material presented and stated: "The petitioners submit that by reference to mauza Salwah tehsil Mendhar district Poonch they have the revenue record obtaining in their favour to be the holders of the land and in this regard the learned counsel for the petitioners refers to khasra-girdawaris of the year 2014, 2019 & 2021 to show that the some of the petitioners by reference of their father Faqur Din are in the recorded cultivating possession of the land in mauza Salwah."

Further referring to the employment status of Petitioner No. 1, the Court recorded: "It is being stated that he is a Police Constable in Indian Reserve Police (IRP) and in this regard, order No. 475 of 2021 dated 12.04.2021 has been placed on record to show that petitioner No. 1-Iftkhar Ali is Police Constable with Belt No. 697/R (now 589/KTR) PID No. EXJ-976975 who has been subjected to disciplinary proceedings by the Zonal Police Headquarters, Jammu."

The Court also noted the petitioners' reliance on previous writ petitions filed in 1993 and 2005 to demonstrate their lawful presence in India: "The petitioners have also referred in the writ petition to the fact their father Faqur Din during his life time being a petitioner in writ petition OWP No. 682/1993 filed in this Court... and later the petitioners filing a writ petition OWP No. 284/2005 in this very Court so as to demonstrate that they are in India long back and that too not by stealth."

With regard to the issue of selective detention, the Court recorded: "The petitioners No. 1 to 4 are said to be married persons having their wives and families with respect to whom no order for ouster from India has come to be passed whereas it is only they who have been detained with intent to be forced out of India notwithstanding the fact they are settlers in Poonch in mauza Salwah dating back long."

Upon consideration of the documents and submissions, the Court stated: "The revenue documents produced... are taken on record for the sake of confirmation of submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioners to prima facie establish that 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."

Finally, finding a prima facie case, the Court recorded: "Prima facie case is made out."

The Court directed that notice be issued to the respondents in the writ petition as well as in CM No. 2529/2025. It recorded that notice was waived by Mr. Vishal Sharma, learned Deputy Solicitor General of India for respondent No. 1, and Mrs. Monika Kohli, learned Senior Additional Advocate General for respondents No. 2 to 7. The Court directed that replies be filed by the respondents within a period of two weeks.

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The Court ordered that the matter be listed on 20.05.2025. Until such time, it directed that the petitioners shall not be asked or forced to leave the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This direction was made subject to objections from the other side.

Further, the Court directed the Deputy Commissioner, Poonch (respondent No. 3), to furnish an affidavit. The affidavit was required to state the status of property holdings, if any, by the petitioners in their own names or in the name of their father, Faqur Din, with respect to land in mauza Salwah, tehsil Mendhar, district Poonch.

Representing the Parties

For the Petitioners: Mr. Mohd. Latif Malik, Advocate

For the Respondents: Mr. Vishal Sharma, Deputy Solicitor General of India, Mrs. Monika Kohli, Senior Additional Advocate General

Case Title: Iftkhar Ali & Others v. Union of India & Others

Case Number: WP(C) No. 1065/2025, CM No. 2529/2025

Bench: Justice Rahul Bharti

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