Delhi HC sets aside Centre's order cancelling OCI card of Professor Swain

New Delhi [India], July 10 : The Delhi High Court on Monday set aside the Central Government's order of cancellation of the (Overseas Citizen of India) OCI Card of Professor Ashok Swain. He had challenged the order saying that it was without any reasoning. He is a professor of peace and conflict research at Uppsala University, Sweden.

Justice Subramonium Prasad on Monday set aside the order passed by the Central Government cancelling the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card of Ashok Swain.

The High Court also directed the centre to pass a detailed order giving reasons for the action against the petitioner within three weeks.

Advocate Sumer Singh Boparai and Samar Singh Boparai appeared for the petitioner.

The petitioner was moved in December 2022 through advocates Ayesha Jamal, Shrishti Khanna, Sachin Kumar and Siddhant Saraswat.

It was stated the OCI card was cancelled in February 2022 because of his statement critical of the present Indian Government. His stand is that he has not given any inflammatory speech.

It was also submitted that there is no specific incident or material to the effect that he was indulging in any such activities.

The petitioner claimed that he has never engaged in any inflammatory speech or anti-India Activities. As a professor, his role is to discuss the policy of the government through his work.

It was also stated that being a critique of certain government policies of the current government shall not be tantamount to anti-India activities under the Citizenship Act, 1955.