NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought response from the central government on a petition filed by Indian born British academic Nitasha Kaul challenging the cancellation of her Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), claiming that she was subjected to a series of coercive and arbitrary actions.
Justice Sachin Datta also issued notice to the government on the interim relief sought by Kaul to travel to India for three weeks to tend to her ailing mother. The judge posted the matter for further hearing on January 22.
According to the petition, Kaul was invited to a convention organised by the government of Karnataka scheduled on February 24-25, 2024. Upon arriving at the Bengaluru airport on the morning of February 23, 2024, however, she was informed by the immigration officials that she could not enter India “on orders from Delhi”, without any written explanation.
Kaul, who has Kashmiri Pandit roots, is a professor of International Relations at the University of Westminster, and has written extensively on Kashmir, nationalism and Hindutva, her petition claims, adding that the cancellation of Kaul’s OCI status and the blacklisting order are “without any legal or factual basis”.