A Pakistani woman married to an Indian 30 years ago and has been staying in the Capital since then has been directed by a city court to be deported to her country as she was found overstaying here illegally.
The woman, Nuzhat Jahan, was directed to be deported to Pakistan without any delay by Additional Sessions Judge Narinder Kumar. The court passed the order on an appeal filed by her against her conviction by a magisterial court and sentencing to six months jail and Rs 7,000 fine.
The judge rejected her plea against the conviction and deportation sought on humanitarian grounds as she has spent 30 years in India and her two sons and a daughter are also married here.
“Although accused and her family members have to suffer on account of deportation, this court has no option but to uphold the order of the magistrate as the law so requires,” ASJ Kumar said, directing Delhi Government to deport her to Pakistan without any delay. It, however, reduced her sentence to six days imprisonment and fine of `2,000.
After hearing the court’s order, both Nuzhat and her husband Gulfam broke down in the court. Nuzhat said she has nobody to go to in Pakistan after 30 years. Nuzhat got married to Gulfam, an Indian national, on August 2, 1983 and came to India in May 23, 1985. She then applied for a long-term visa which was granted to her and her passport was also extended up to September 1993. Her long-term visa was also further extended up to March 1993. She was sent reminders and notices for visa extension and passport revalidation in 2000 and 2002 but in vain. Nuzhat was then arrested and a case was registered against her.
An official of the passport section in Delhi Secretariat told the court that after 1993, Nuzhat was sent several notices reminding her about the expiry of her visa and passport but she did not take any step for getting them extended.
“The accused did not take any step for getting her visa extended and passport revalidated despite several opportunities,” the court said, adding she overstayed in India without any visa and passport since 1993. Nuzhat’s counsel Azad Khan told the court that her application for citizenship of India is pending in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The court was, however, told that her application for citizenship has been pending as she had failed to deposit her original passport and other requisite documents to the Ministry. After the sentence, when Nuzhat broke down in the court, the judge said she should have followed the law.