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Delhi HC seeks Centre's reply to Indian origin British academic's plea against blacklisting order
Delhi HC seeks Centre's reply to Indian origin British academic's plea against blacklisting order
New Delhi, The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the Centre's response on a plea by India-born British academic Nitasha Kaul challenging an order which cancelled her Overseas Citizenship of India and blacklisted her entry to India.
Justice Sachin Datta issued notice to the central government on the main petition as well as the interim application seeking a stay on the operation of the OCI cancellation order.
As an interim relief, Kaul also sought permission to be allowed to enter India for three weeks to visit her aged and ailing mother.
The court listed the matter for further hearing in January.
Kaul, an international scholar and a professor of International Relations at the University of Westminster, said she has been repeatedly targeted for her critical academic writings and public engagement, without being provided with specific allegations or evidence warranting such actions and that the authorities have passed non-speaking orders.
"The impugned OCI cancellation order dated March 6, 2025 and the purported blacklisting order is in the teeth of the principles of natural justice, the petitioner's constitutional rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution and statutory rights conferred under Section 7 of the Citizenship Act as well as the Foreigners Act which encompasses within its ambit the rights to procedural fairness, transparency, and proportionality," the petitioner, represented by advocate Aadil Singh Boparai, said.
According to news reports, in February 2024, Kaul was invited by the Karnataka government to attend a conference.
Despite holding a valid UK passport and an OCI card, she was denied entry at Bengaluru airport and deported after being held for about 24 hours in a cell.
In May this year, the central government revoked her OCI status. The cancellation letter accused her of "anti-India" activities, saying that her writings and speeches targeted India's sovereignty.
Kaul said she is being prevented from meeting her 72-year-old ailing mother who resides in Delhi and has longstanding health issues.
"The respondents' actions smack of arbitrariness and high-handedness, reflecting an utter disregard for the rule of law in a free and democratic society," the plea said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
