On Friday, the central government told the Delhi High Court that it shall seek instructions on whether any show causes notice or proceedings were commenced against VICE journalist Angad Singh for cancellation of his Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, reported The Indian Express.
As per the report, the submission was made before a single-judge bench of Justice Prathiba Singh, who was hearing Singh’s plea against Centre’s refusal to allow him to enter India. Angad, who was involved in the production of VICE’s 2020 documentary, India Burning, was deported back to the US, in August last year.
Appearing for the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, advocate Anurag Ahluwalia sought time to place on record instructions from the Ministry of External Affairs and said he wanted to confirm “whether any show cause notice or any proceedings have been commenced” against Singh for cancellation of the OCI card. “Let instructions be placed by means of an affidavit within two weeks,” the court said, listing the matter on February 28.
The report further said that appearing for Singh, advocate Swathi Sukumar submitted that whenever her client would carry out journalistic activities, he would apply for a special permit. “Their case is when I came on a special permit in 2020 I conducted some journalistic activities which brought disrepute to India. I defamed the country and now I’m blacklisted from entering on my OCI card,” Sukumar said. Angad’s OCI card was initially issued in March 2007 and was renewed on August 29, 2018.
The court noted that Angad Singh has challenged the refusal of grant of special permits to him and also the refusal to permit him to enter India.
The HC observed, “He is a journalist working at VICE news and had applied for permission to shoot in India in January 2020 for Republic Day celebrations as well as other events in India. He was issued a permit — an NOC on January 14, 2020, by the consulate general of India in New York for filming a documentary sometime in March 2020. However, since he could not visit immediately, he applied for a second permission which he was again granted on January 30, 2020. Both the NOC which were issued were subject to certain terms and conditions.”
It was noted that sometime in 2021, Singh applied for a special permit to visit India again and cover a rocket launch and to conduct some interviews. In respect of said application, Sukumar said that no response was received by her client. Singh again applied for doing a food show in September-October 2021; however, this permit was rejected with a one-line denial, the court noted.
Subsequently, the court noted that in August of 2022, Singh wanted to travel to India for a personal visit as he has roots and relatives in India. He also wanted to visit religious places in the country. “However, upon arrival in India on August 23, 2022, he was not permitted to enter and deported back,” the HC noted.
Sukumar submitted that under the Citizenship Act for OCI card, the provisions are clear that except certain rights as specified in 7B (2) of the Act, OCI card holders enjoy all rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India.
She submitted that as per Section 7D, OCI cards cannot be cancelled on any grounds except as provided therein. She relied on the proviso to the section which holds that an OCI cardholder would have to be given a reasonable opportunity to be heard before an order is passed for the cancellation of his or her card.
She submitted that in the present case, “no reasons were ever communicated to her client” on why he was refused a permit for production of the food show. Further, “no reason has been specified” on why he was not allowed entry into India in August 2022. She argued that this is a violation of the proviso to Section 7D of the Act, which “requires compliance with principles of natural justice”. She argued that her client’s OCI card is “still valid” and Singh is claimed to have been blacklisted by respondents but his OCI card has not yet been cancelled.
The report also says that according to the Centre, an affidavit has been filed by Foreigners Regional Registration Office stating that “Singh is a blacklist subject who was blacklisted at the instance of the consulate general of India with the remarks that if he ever arrived in India, he ought not to be permitted to enter India and the consulate general would be given information about the same”.