Delhi HC overturns cancellation of OCI card to Prof Ashok Swain, but…

India-born Swedish academic and public intellectual Prof. Ashok Swain’s plea against the cancellation of his OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card was once again upheld by Delhi High Court on Friday, 25 March. Even as a detailed copy of the judgment is awaited, however, it appears to be a pyrrhic victory for the academic. The court had overturned the cancellation of Prof. Swain’s OCI card in 2023 too, directing the government to spell out its reasons to the academic in detail.

Prof. Swain had returned to the high court and complained that despite the specific order of the court, the government had merely copy-pasted and paraphrased the provision which allowed the government to cancel OCI cards, without citing why this was being done in his case.

Prof. Swain’s petition claimed he was a victim of a witch hunt for his critical views of the government and its policies. “The petitioner has an ailing mother aged about 78 years who is suffering from various medical ailments including diabetes, high blood pressure and other age-related ailments. The petitioner is the only son, and has not been to India in the past three years. Thus, there is an extreme urgency for him to visit India and attend to his ailing mother,” the plea had stated.

The professor of peace and conflict research at Sweden's Uppsala University was appointed the UNESCO chair on International Water Cooperation, becoming the first UNESCO chair of Uppsala University. He is not the first or only academic whose OCI cards have been cancelled because of views critical of the BJP government. Several journalists, academics and activists of Indian origin working abroad have gone to court to challenge the cancellation of their OCI cards.

Overseas Citizenship of India is an immigration status that allows foreigners of Indian origin to live and work in India indefinitely. OCI status provides long-term visa-free travel and stay in India, and gives cardholders a host of privileges normally not given to a foreign national.

Section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955 says OCI cards can be cancelled if they are obtained by fraud, or if the cardholder shows disaffection to the Constitution, assists an enemy during war, faces imprisonment, or if it becomes necessary to do so in the interests of the sovereignty, integrity and security of India.

While at least 102 OCI cards were cancelled between 2014 and May 2022, the government claimed it had no information on the number of cancellations of OCI cards between 2004 and 2014, before the BJP government came to power. In 2021, the government had issued a fresh set of restrictions that curtailed the rights and liberties of OCI card holders.

According to information available on the ministry of external affairs website, a total of 4.06 million OCI registration cards were issued as of 31 January 2022.

Therefore, the relief provided by Delhi High Court is unlikely to last long. The government appears certain to stall and circumvent the order, issue a fresh show cause notice, and allow the case to drag on until the Supreme Court intervenes.