New Delhi: Delhi high court on Friday set aside an order issued by the central govt cancelling the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card of academic Ashok Swain. However, the single judge bench of Justice Sachin Dutta granted liberty to the Centre to issue a fresh show-cause notice to Swain. The high court said a reasoned and detailed order must be passed by the authorities if such a step is taken. Swain challenged the revocation, saying it was done in a callous manner.
Swain’s plea contended that he cannot be witch-hunted for his views on the current govt or its policies. The said order was passed on July 30, 2023, after a coordinate bench on July 10, 2023, quashed an earlier similar order cancelling Swain’s OCI card. The court asked the Centre to pass a detailed order giving reasons for exercising its powers under Section 7D(e) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Swain, in his plea, said that despite specific and unequivocal directions of the court to pass a detailed order, the Embassy of India to Sweden & Latvia passed the fresh order in a callous manner by merely paraphrasing the provisions of law. He also said that he is a well-known academic and researcher, and that being an academician, he analyses and criticises certain policies of the present govt.
In Feb 2024, the Embassy of India to Sweden and Latvia had cancelled Swain’s OCI card under Section 7D(e) of the Citizenship Act.
