Delhi High Court again sets aside Centre’s decision to cancel OCI card of writer Ashok Swain

Delhi HC grants relief to Ashok Swain, rejects Centre’s order cancelling OCI card

The Delhi High Court on Friday again set aside an order issued by the Central government on July 30, 2023, cancelling the OCI card of Sweden-based Professor of Indian origin Ashok Swain. The single-judge Bench of Justice Sachin Datta, however, granted liberty to the government to issue a fresh showcause notice to Swain. Earlier, the Central government’s decision to cancel Swain’s OCI Card was set aside by the High Court.

Swain argued in his petition that he could not be witch-hunted for his views on the current government or its policies. The government passed the order on July 30 following the Delhi High Court verdict of July 10, which quashed a similar order passed by the Union of India earlier and directed the Centre to pass a detailed order giving reasons for exercising its powers under Section 7D(e) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

Swain contended in his petition that despite ‘specific’ and ‘unequivocal’ directions passed by the High Court to pass a detailed order, the Embassy of India to Sweden and Latvia had issued a fresh order in a ‘callous’ manner by merely paraphrasing the provisions of law. The petitioner apprised the High Court about his ailing mother aged about 78 years, who was suffering from various medical ailments such as Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, and other age-related diseases.

Swain contended in the plea that being the only son, it was his duty and extreme urgency to visit India and attend to his ailing mother. He added that he has not been to the country in the past three years.

The petitioner argued that being a well-known academician and researcher, it was his job to analyse and criticise certain policies of the present government.

On July 10, 2023, the High Court quashed the February 2, 2022, order passed by the Embassy of India to Sweden and Latvia, cancelling Swain’s OCI Card under Section 7D(e) of the Citizenship Act. Noting that there was no application of mind in passing the order, the single-judge Bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad had observed that the Central government merely used Section 7D(e) of the Citizenship Act as a ‘mantra’ and did not furnish any reasons for revoking the OCI status of Swain.

The High Court directed the Union of India to pass a fresh, detailed order within three weeks, stating reasons for cancellation of the petitioner’s OCI card. The Single-Judge Bench further observed that it has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case. Swain heads the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University in Sweden, besides being the UNESCO Chair on International Water Cooperation since 2007.

The lawyer representing the Central government apprised the High Court that Swain’s OCI card was cancelled due to his alleged involvement in activities ‘prejudicial’ to the ‘security and stability’ of the nation, its ‘sovereignty and integrity,’ and the country’s ‘friendly’ relations with other countries.

Swain’s Advocate Aadil Singh Boparai argued that he never gave any inflammatory speech, and there were no specific instances or material to substantiate the allegations that he indulged in anti-India activities. The Counsel said that as a scholar and Academician, it was part of Swain’s work to analyse and criticise certain policies of the present government.

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