On July 10, the Delhi High Court set aside an order of the Union government cancelling the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card of professor and academic Ashok Swain. In its order, there are no justifications given in the government order for cancelling Swain’s OCI card. The Court then gave the Union government three weeks to pass a new directive, as reported by the Bar and Bench.
“The respondents are directed to pass a detailed order giving reasons for the cancellation of petitioner’s OCI card. The impugned order is set aside the respondents are directed to complete the exercise in three weeks. It is made clear that we have not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case,” the Court said, according to Bar and Bench.
It was noted by the court that the Union government had stated that it cancelled Professor Swain’s OCI card because he was involved in activities “prejudicial to security and stability of India”, its “sovereignty and integrity” and “friendly relations with other countries”, reported the Bar and Bench.
However, Swain argued that he had not made any incendiary remarks and that the charges were unsupported by any concrete evidence. “It is submitted that the petitioner has never engaged in any inflammatory speeches or Anti-India activities. As a scholar, it his role in the society to discuss and critique the policies of Government through his work,” Swain’s petition had stated.
Furthermore, Swain had contended that his criticism of certain policies of the current government cannot be termed as “anti-Indian.”
“Being an Academician, he analyses and criticises certain policies of the present government, mere criticism of the policies of the current ruling dispensation shall not tantamount to anti-India activities under Section 7D(e) of the Citizenship Act, 1955,” Swain’s petition had further stated.
Observations of the Court
In his order, Justice Subramonium Prasad of the Delhi High Court observed that the government’s order is bereft of any reason other than repeating Section 7D(e) of the Citizenship Act as mantra. He stated that the Centre’s order merely cited provisions of the Citizenship Act to cancel Swain’s OCI card but did not furnish any reasons. The High Court ordered the Centre to pass a fresh reasoned order within three weeks.
“It appears that there was no application of mind,” the High Court held, reported Bar and Bench.
Brief Background of the case:
In his plea moved through Advocate Aadil Singh Boparai, Swain argued that he received a show cause notice in October 2020 “arbitrarily barring” the OCI Card on the alleged premise that he was “indulging in inflammatory speeches and anti-India activities.” The plea stated that while he replied to the show cause notice on November 25, 2020 and vehemently denied the allegations made therein, he has not receive any response or materials from the authorities.
In December 2022, Professor Swain had moved the Delhi High Court against his Overseas Citizen of India card getting cancelled by the Embassy of India to Sweden and Latvia in February 2022, over allegations that he gave inflammatory speeches and promoted anti-India activities.
Overseas Citizenship of India is an immigration status that allows foreigners of Indian-origin to live and work in India indefinitely Swain, who holds a Swedish citizenship, is an academic and professor of peace and conflict research at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Sweden’s Uppsala University. He has been extremely critical of the Modi government’s policies and often tweets on issues concerning India.
Ashok professor’s introduction on Uppsala University page reads as follows:
“Ashok Swain is a Professor and Head of Department of the Department of Peace and Conflict Research. He is the UNESCO Chair on International Water Cooperation, and the Director of Research School of International Water Cooperation at Uppsala University. He is also the founding Editor-in-Chief of ‘Environment and Security’ journal, jointly published by Sage Publishing and Environmental Peace building Association.”
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