New Delhi, May 28 (IANS): The Delhi High Court on Tuesday allowed a Pakistani woman, married to an Indian and residing here since 2005, to stay on in the country while setting aside the government order asking her to leave.

Hearing the plea of the Pakistani woman who was asked by the Union Home Ministry to leave the country, a division bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice A. J. Bhambhani said the government did not follow procedure when it ordered her deportation and asked that the woman's application for citizenship be considered.

Turning down the government's stand that the decision was taken on the basis of adverse security reports, the court said that the material, including intelligence inputs, placed before it, was not sufficient for taking such a step against her.

The woman, in her plea, said that she was married to an Indian, was residing in Delhi since 2005 and had two minor sons, aged 11 and 5 years. She had been granted a long-term visa valid until June 2020, but on February 8, received a notice from the Home Ministry asking her to leave the country within 15 days.

In the notice, the Ministry said if she doesn't leave India, action will be taken against her and she will not get permission to enter the country in the future.

A single judge bench on February 28 directed the Pakistani woman to leave the country within two weeks while observing there were adverse security reports against her.