Delhi HC rejects Centre's order cancelling OCI card of academic Ashok Swain

New Delhi, Mar 28 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Friday set aside the order of the Centre cancelling the overseas citizenship of India (OCI) card of Indian-born Swedish academician Ashok Swain.
     Justice Sachin Datta held, "The order dated July 30, 2023 is set aside. The authorities are at liberty to issue a fresh show cause notice."
     The court's verdict came on a plea by Swain challenging the July 30, 2023 order.
     Swain, who said a non-speaking order was passed, argued his 78-year-old mother who lived in India was unwell and he was the only son and hadn't been able to visit India in the past three years.
     "Although, it is the alleged case of the respondent (Centre) that the petitioner (Swain) was blacklisted for anti-India activities for allegedly spreading detrimental propaganda through his writings and speeches in various public fora, the impugned order is bereft of any particular incidence/tweet/writing or reason which remotely demonstrates the contention of the respondent number 3 (Embassy of India to Sweden and Latvia)," the plea said.
     The July 30, 2023 order, the plea said, did not pass the muster of a well-reasoned order for it failed to disclose material justifying the cancellation of the petitioner's OCI card.
     Swain said being an academician, he analysed and criticised certain policies of the present government and couldn't be made to suffer for his views on the policies of the government.
     "Criticism of certain policies of the government would not amount to being an inflammatory speech or an anti-India activity," the petition said.
     Swain, Professor and head of department at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University in Sweden, had earlier moved the high court challenging the cancellation of his OCI card through the February 8, 2022 order of the Central government.
     The high court, on July 10, 2023, set aside the government's order, saying it did not give reasons and "hardly gave any indication of application of mind".
     The high court had directed the Centre to pass a detailed order within three weeks giving reasons for exercising its powers under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
     The petition said despite such specific and unequivocal directions of the high court to pass a detailed order, authorities padded the July 30, 2023 order in a callous manner by merely paraphrasing the provisions of law.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)