Nearly three months after revoking all short-term visas and deporting around 60 Pakistani nationals, the Indian government has decided to grant a visitor visa to a 63-year-old woman married Indian national and had lived in Jammu for decades.
She had been living in Jammu for the past 38 years with her husband and two children before she was deported.
“After much deliberations and considering the peculiarity of facts and unusual factual position obtaining in the mater, an in-principle decision is taken by the authority to grant a visitor’s visa to the respondent”, Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta informed Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on July 30.
Taking note of this development, the Jammu & Kashmir High Court disposed of two related appeals.
The decision, the Bench clarified, was taken owing to the “peculiar facts and circumstances” of the case and “shall not constitute a precedent in any manner.”
Rakshanda Rashid, the wife of a retired Indian government official, was among those affected by the blanket visa cancellation issued in the wake of the Pahalgam terror incident. Acting under Section 3(1) of the Foreigners Act, 1946, the Ministry of Home Affairs revoked all valid short-term visas, barring a few exemptions.
Consequently, on April 28, 2025, Rashid was served a Leave India Notice and deported the next day, escorted to the Wagah-Attari border.
Ever since the deportation, Rashid has been staying alone in a hotel in Lahore and is on the verge of running out of the money she took with her from India.
After being deported, Rakshanda Rashid challenged the decision before the Jammu & Kashmir High Court.
On June 6, 2025, a Single Judge issued an interim order directing authorities to facilitate her return to India within 10 days.
This directive led to appeals being filed by the Union Government. When the matter reached the Division Bench on July 2, the Court stayed the interim order.
During the next hearing on July 22, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought time to explore possible solutions.
On July 30, the Court was informed that the competent authority had agreed in principle to grant Rakshanda Rashid a fresh visitor visa, a proposal her counsel accepted, confirming she would withdraw the writ petition.
The Division Bench then recorded the development, stating that the interim order had lost its relevance.
The Court appreciated the Union Government’s approach and emphasized that the relief granted was a one-time exception based on unique facts, not to be treated as precedent.
The appeals were disposed of, and the respondents were allowed to continue pursuing their pending applications for Indian citizenship and a long-term visa.
