In a relief to a Pakistani National, the Central Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday informed the Bombay High Court that it has extended the Long Term Visa of Asif Karadia, until December 2018.
Karadia (49) has been living in Mumbai with his family, for several years but was to be deported by the authorities, following which he approached the high court, challenging it.
Advocate Sujay Kantawala and Advocate Ashish Mehta appearing for Karadia argued that the citizenship petition is pending before the authorities and until it is decided, he should be allowed to remain in India. Following which on the last hearing court had asked the Union government to give details on the process of the citizenship application.
The counsel for the Union government thus informed the court that the visa was extended and he should make a fresh application for citizenship. To which a bench of Justice R M Borde and Justice Rajesh Ketkar asked the state government authorities to give the process for submitting a fresh application. Until then the court also directed the authorities not to take any coercive action against Karadia.
Karadia has been living in India along with his family, for the last 49 years.
Karadia’s father was born in undivided India at Sidhpur in Gujarat and moved to Mumbai in 1942. In May 1962, he married a woman of Indian citizenship who had migrated to Pakistan before partition. She came to India under a Pakistani passport for marriage. She then travelled to Karachi for delivery. While she returned to India after her child was born on April 19, 1965, no separate passport was issued to the infant. Thus creating the entire issue of Asif, not being a citizen of India.
In 2012 2012, when Karadia applied to travel on the Haj pilgrimage, his passport application was refused on the ground that he was not a citizen of India. He then applied for a Long Term Visa (LTV), which, according to his petition, was valid from December 26, 2012 to December 24, 2015. He had also applied for citizenship, but that application is still pending before the Ministry of External Affairs.