The Delhi high court on Monday set aside a government order cancelling Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card of Sweden-based professor of Indian origin Ashok Swain.

Justice Subramonium Prasad said the Centre order merely used Section 7D(e) of the Citizenship Act as a “mantra” and did not furnish any reasons as why Swain's OCI status was being revoked.

The court directed the government to pass a fresh reasoned order within three weeks.

"The respondent is directed to pass a detailed order giving reasons for exercising its power under Section 7D(e) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The impugned order is set aside. The respondent is directed to complete the exercise within three weeks from today,” the court said.

The Embassy of India to Sweden and Latvia on February 8 last year cancelled Swain's OCI Card under Section 7D(e) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, according to the petition.

Who is Ashok Swain?

Ashok Swain is an academic and professor of peace and conflict research at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Sweden's Uppsala University.

He is the UNESCO chair on International Water Cooperation, and the director of Research School of International Water Cooperation at Uppsala University.

He is also the founding editor-in-chief of 'Environment and Security' journal, jointly published by Sage Publishing and Environmental Peacebuilding Association.

Swain had moved the Delhi high court contending that his OCI card was cancelled in February 2022 because of his statements critical of the current Indian government.

The plea alleged that the cancellation order is ex-facie illegal, arbitrary and non-est in law, besides being non-speaking and unreasoned and the petitioner cannot be “witch-hunted for his views on the political dispensation of the current government or their policies”.

The counsel appearing for the Central government reportedly told the court that Swain's OCI card because he was involved in activities 'prejudicial to security and stability of India', its “sovereignty and integrity' and 'friendly relations with other countries”.

Swain maintained that he has not given any inflammatory speech and there were no specific instances or materials to substantiate the allegations.

Swain, who is a citizen of Sweden, also argued that no specific instance or particulars were cited in the show-cause notice for substantiating the barring of his OCI card.

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