The wife of a Pakistani man convicted of espionage has approached the Rajasthan high court requesting not to deport him until his appeal is decided and to allow the couple and their children to stay in India.
The court on Saturday sought the state and central governments’ response to the Pakistani woman’s plea and directed that her husband, Nand Lal, who is currently lodged in Jaipur Central Jail, shall not be deported without the court’s permission.
The woman, Lata, a resident of Sangad district in Pakistan, filed the petition on August 24, requesting that she and her husband, along with their children, not be deported to Pakistan.
Lata, accompanied by her brother-in-law Gauri Shankar Garg, appeared before a single bench presided over by justice Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati.
She explained that she is a citizen of Pakistan and has been married to Nand Lal, the son of Nar Singh and a resident of Khipro, District Sangad (Sindh), Pakistan, for 15 years.
Lata possesses a valid passport issued by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on December 3, 2019, which remains valid until December 2024.
{{/usCountry}}Lata possesses a valid passport issued by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on December 3, 2019, which remains valid until December 2024.
{{/usCountry}}She and her children arrived in India earlier this year on visas obtained with their passports, but these visas expired on July 27, 2023.
Lata mentioned that they had applied for a long-term visa (LTV for extension of the existing visa) before the expiration of their visas, and the application is currently pending with the Home Department.
According to the petition, Nand Lal, Lata’s husband, had entered India on a visa issued by the Indian High Commission for the period from July 31, 2016, to November 30, 2016. However, he was arrested in Jaisalmer on August 20, 2016 under the Official Secrets Act, in a joint operation involving various intelligence agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau (IB), resulting in the dismantling of a spying network run by Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI.
During the interrogation of Nand Lal, information about his two Pakistani associates operating in Jaisalmer, Gauri Shankar and Premchand, surfaced, leading to their subsequent arrests in Jodhpur.
On February 22 of this year, the chief judicial magistrate of metropolitan city, Jaipur-1, convicted Nand Lal and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment.
Nand Lal, along with two other convicted individuals, has filed an appeal against the verdict, which is currently pending before additional sessions judge No. 5, Jaipur.
Lata informed the court that she had enrolled her children in Asscent Academy School, Jodhpur, for their education. In the petition, she requested that until her husband’s appeal is decided, the respondents be directed not to deport Nand Lal to Pakistan. She also sought permission for herself and her family members to continue residing in India.
The bench noted, “Deputy solicitor general Mukesh Rajpurohit is directed to accept notice on behalf of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs, and additional advocate general KS Rajpurohit is directed to accept notice on behalf of the state, which they accept and seek some time to complete their instructions.”
The bench further ordered, “In the meanwhile, the deportation of petitioner’s husband, Nand Lal, from India shall not be carried out without the permission of this court.”
The court has fixed October 9 as the next date of hearing.