OMESSE CITIZEN OF INDIA CARD File image issued to non -resident Indians along with American Passport | Photo Credit: Getty Images/Istockphoto
The High Court in Delhi noted that the center did not comply with the legal process during the deportation and the blacklist of the holder of the foreign citizen of India (OCI), who participated in alleged unauthorized missionary activities in Nagaland and other northeast states.
The court asked the Center to give John Robert Roughhton III, an American citizen who organized an OCI card in 1991 for his marriage with an Indian national, an effective opportunity to deal with the accusation.
“In accordance with this, the current petition is destroyed towards respondents to deliver the notice of the cause in terms of” black document “of the petitioner and after proper consideration of the proposer’s response and, after he provided the opportunity to hear,”
Mr. Roughhton moved to Dimapur in Nagaland in February 1994 after marriage. In June 2024, a couple traveled to the US to visit the petitioner’s parents, but after returning to India in October of that year, joining the country was not allowed, despite his valid OCI card, which provided him with a lifelong visa.
Also read: What is the OCI card and how to apply for it?
Mr. Roughton claimed that he had no reason to explain his deportation.
The Center advisor opposed the petition and stated that the petitioner was rejected because he was included in the black document due to his / her involvement in mission activities in Nagaland and other northeast countries for several years without obtaining a special authority from the competent authority.
The Court noted that the Citizenship Act prescribed the conditions for canceling the OCI card holder, and the same was that there could be no cancellation without providing an “reasonable opportunity to hear”.
“In the present case, the petitioner was not given the opportunity to hear and was not informed about the reasons for its deportation/blacklist. At the time of deportation, he was not even informed that he was on the black list or the opportunity to attack him,” he said.
“As a result of both the petitioner’s deportation and the process of the black list that do not meet it, they do not meet the statutory requirement prescribed under section 7-D of the 1955 Citizenship Act,” he added.
“Given that the petitioner continues to hold a valid OCI card, his rights as a foreign citizen of India cannot be freely limited,” the court decided.
Published – April 1 2025 22:45 is
