The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has directed the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to bring back a woman, Rakshanda Rashid, who was deported to Pakistan despite residing in India for nearly four decades.

Rashid had been living in Jammu for 38 years with her husband and two children under a Long Term Visa (LTV) when she was deported on April 30—ironically, the very day her legal challenge against the deportation was listed for its first hearing before the High Court.

Her deportation came in the wake of the Union government's directive to Pakistani nationals to leave India following the Pahalgam terror attack in April. After the April 27 deadline, several Pakistani nationals were sent back, including Rashid. She is currently stranded in a hotel in Lahore.

In an order dated June 6, Justice Rahul Bharti took note of her husband Sheikh Zahoor Ahmed’s plea that Rashid has no family in Pakistan and suffers from serious health conditions. The Court acknowledged the potential danger to her life, observing that it had not yet had an opportunity to adjudicate the matter on its merits.

"Human rights are the most sacrosanct component of a human life," the Court remarked, noting that in exceptional situations, constitutional courts are duty-bound to act swiftly on humanitarian grounds—even before delving into legal technicalities.

The Court pointed out that Rashid's LTV status alone did not justify her summary deportation, especially in the absence of a detailed examination of her case or a formal deportation order. It held that her removal from India without due process warranted urgent judicial intervention.

"In view of the exceptional nature of facts and circumstances... this Court is constrained to direct the Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India to retrieve the petitioner back to J&K, India," the order stated, so that she may reunite with her husband in Jammu.

The Ministry has been given ten days from the date of the order to ensure compliance. The matter will be heard next on July 1 for submission of a compliance report.

Advocate Himani Khajuria represented the petitioner, while Deputy Solicitor General of India Vishal Sharma appeared for the Union government.