BENGALURU: The High Court of Karnataka gave interim relief to actor and social activist Chetan Kumar by directing the authorities not to precipitate further the matter related to the cancellation of his OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) Card till June 2 when the next hearing will be held.
Justice M Nagaprasanna passed the interim order on April 21 subject to the condition that Chetan Kumar filed an affidavit of undertaking that he would not post on social media matters related to the judiciary and those which are sub-judice and that he would delete his tweets that are against the judiciary.
Any violation of the undertaking by the petitioner would entail automatic vacation of the interim protection, the court added.
The petitioner approached the court questioning the March 28 order cancelling his OCI card, invoking Rule 35(2) of the Citizenship Rules, 2009, on the allegation that he indulged in anti-India activities.
On June 8, 2022, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office, Bureau of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs, issued a show cause notice to the petitioner as to why his OCI card should not be cancelled.
The petitioner has been accused of indulging in many criminal activities such as making derogatory, insulting and objectionable remarks, promoting ill-will, hatred or disharmony against a particular community, violating Covid guidelines and making remarks against the judiciary.
The counsel of the petitioner contended that the petitioner is entitled to an opportunity of hearing. To attract provisions under Section 7D(b) and (e) of the Act, the offence must be against the national interest or his acts should be inimical thereof. If the impugned order is not stayed, the petitioner is likely to be deported, as the OCI card gets cancelled and he would be an illegal immigrant, he argued.
The acts of the petitioner must be established that they are inimical to the national interest. For which the respondents need to justify by way of filing a statement of objections, the court said.