Inform foreigners, OCIs about blacklisting in advance: HC to Center
The Delhi High Court has deprecated the "disturbing and unreasonable" practice of authorities of not informing Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders or foreigners in advance about they being blacklisted. The court has also directed the Center to ensure that such individuals, who are blacklisted, are intimated in advance that they would be denied entry into the country.
Cases being filed regarding OCIs, foreigners being denied entry
Justice Vibhu Bakhru said that a number of cases were being filed in the high court on account foreigners or OCI card holders not being permitted entry into India upon their arrival. Bakhru also said the "disturbing feature" in each was that none of such individuals had any prior intimation that they were blacklisted, despite having a valid visa.
The practice must be deprecated, says the court
"They (foreigners/OCI cardholders) discover that they are not allowed entry into the country only on their arrival," Bakhru said. "Whilst there may be good reason for the respondents to deny certain foreigners entry...the practice of not informing them..., cannot be countenanced. This is not only unreasonable but militates against our value of fairness that is engrafted in the Constitution of India," the court said.
HC directs Center to issue orders to concerned officers
The HC directed the External Affairs Ministry to ensure that necessary directions are issued to all officers, who are authorized to issue blacklisting orders, to inform the foreigners/OCI card holders concerned that they have been blacklisted and their entry into the country would be denied.
HC's directions came on petition filed by OCI's wife
The directions by the HC came while hearing the petition by a woman, whose husband - an OCI card holder - was not allowed to enter the country despite having a valid visa. According to the petitioner, her husband is a person of Indian origin and had acquired the citizenship of the United Kingdom in 2006 after spending 17 years studying and working there.
Petitioner's husband is a qualified doctor
The petitioner claimed her husband, a qualified doctor in the field of Orthopaedic and Spinal Surgery, travels the world over to give lectures in the field. She said that her husband, Dr. Naresh Satyanarayan Kumar, was invited to give a keynote lecture at a medical conference in Amritsar between August 9-11 and accordingly, both of them had traveled to India on August 8.
Dr. Kumar was denied entry after arriving in the country
On arriving in India, Kumar was denied entry and his passport was endorsed with the noting "entry refused," the plea said. In the case, the central government standing counsel Jasmeet Singh told the court that Kumar was blacklisted by order of March 5, 2018, passed by the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) at Chennai and sought time to obtain the details in this regard.
Next hearing on 11 October
The high court then directed the Center to produce the relevant file containing the material and reasons for the issuance of the blacklisting order against Dr. Kumar and listed the matter for further hearing on October 11.
