A Pakistani national, Sheikh Gulzar Khan, also known as Gulzar Massih, was released from Cherlapally Central Prison after the Telangana High Court overturned a state government order granting permission to the police to detain him. The case was related to allegations of obtaining an Indian passport fraudulently. The court, comprising Justice K Lakshman and Justice P Sree Sudha, issued the orders on July 13, which declared the government order (GO No. 599) illegal and nullified it. However, the court’s ruling does not prevent the Union of India from proceeding with the deportation process in accordance with the law.
Gulzar Khan, hailing from Sialkot district in Punjab, Pakistan, was accused of forging documents to enter India in 2011. During his stay, he married a woman from Andhra Pradesh and worked as a painter. Using counterfeit documents, he allegedly obtained an Indian passport, Aadhaar card, and voter ID cards while concealing his true identity. In 2019, the city police filed a case against him, charging him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Foreigners Act, and Passport Act. After being arrested in Secunderabad, he was later granted bail.
Following a request from the police to detain Gulzar Khan until the completion of his deportation process to Pakistan, the Telangana government issued a Government Order (GO) authorizing his detention. He was taken into custody in February 2022 and remained detained at Cherlapally Central Prison.
However, Gulzar Khan’s wife filed a petition in the High Court challenging the GO’s validity. The petitioner’s counsel, M A Shakeel, argued that the state government lacked the authority to grant such detention permissions to the police.
The High Court ultimately quashed the state government’s detention order against Gulzar Khan but clarified that the ongoing case against him would continue.
