J&K High Court Issues Notice On CRPF Jawan's Plea Challenging Dismissal From Service For Marrying Pakistani Woman

A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan from Jammu and Kashmir, has moved the J&K High Court challenging his dismissal from service for marrying a Pakistani national.

A bench of Justice Javed Iqbal Wani while hearing the matter issued notice to the Director General of CRPF, as well as to the Commandants of CRPF's 41 Battalion (Bangrasia, Bhopal) and 72 Battalion (Sodra, Sunderbani, Rajouri). The respondents have been directed to file their objections by the next date of hearing, scheduled for June 30, 2025.

The petitioner had joined the CRPF in 2017 has served in multiple states including Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, and Madhya Pradesh. On May 2, he was dismissed from service after it came to light that he had married Menal Khan, a Pakistani national, who is also his cousin.

The dismissal came in the wake of heightened security tensions following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 25 tourists and a local resident. In the aftermath, India suspended all visas for Pakistani nationals and downgraded diplomatic ties with Islamabad.

Petitioner's wife was among the Pakistani nationals marked for deportation, after which petitioner approached the J&K High Court, which ordered stay on her deportation until May 14. Pursuant to this interim order, his wife was brought back from the Attari border to petitioner's residence in J&K.

The instant petition challenges petitioner's termination from service, potentially raising constitutional questions around right to marry, procedural fairness, and the limits of state action in service law.

The matter is now posted for further hearing on June 30, where the CRPF authorities are expected to present their formal response.