ASHOK SWAIN Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition has been filed by the petitioner assailing the order dtd. 30/7/2023 passed by the respondent no.3/Second Secretary (Consular), Embassy of India, Stockholm, whereby, the petitioner's registration as Overseas Citizenship of India ('OCI') Cardholder has been sought to be cancelled.

(2.) It is the case of the petitioner that the said order is a non-speaking order, devoid of any reason to exercise the powers under Sec. 7-D(e) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and as such cannot withstand the scrutiny of law. It is further averred in the petition that even though the petitioner has been ostensibly blacklisted for anti-India activities and/or spreading detrimental propaganda through his writings and speeches in various public forums, the impugned order is bereft of any specific details as regard thereto.

(3.) It is emphasized in the petition that the petitioner is a renowned scholar and has been serving as the Professor and Head of Department of the Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Sweden. It is stated that the petitioner became the first UNESCO Chair of Uppsala University, since his appointment in 2017 as the Chair on International Water Cooperation. Furthermore, the petitioner had been granted citizenship by the Government of Sweden in 2006.