Delhi High Court: The Single Judge Bench comprising of Rajiv Shakdher J., decided on a petition seeking the removal of the ban on entry of the petitioner an Indian origin Canadian citizen in India due to being put on a ‘Blacklist’ along with violating the principles of natural justice.
The matter majorly dealt with the ban of the petitioner on entering in India who is of Indian origin migrated to Canada and consisted of an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card which permits the free travel to and from India qua persons who are foreign citizens of Indian origin. The petitioner was asked to return to Canada when he reached Hyderabad airport to see his differently able child who had fallen seriously ill.
The petitioner in seeking legal recourses and on being dissatisfied with responses moved to the High Court, where a counter affidavit was filed by the respondents saying the High Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the said petition. Though, the High Court dealt with the issue of jurisdiction and stated that the submission can’t be sustained.
While considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the High Court came to the conclusion with following reasoning that, as averred by the petitioner that he attended ‘Tabligh’ work, it is not a banned activity in accordance to the visa manual. Prima facie, the activity undertaken did not violate any provisions of the Indian law. Therefore, no opportunity being provided to the petitioner by the Respondents is totally unjustified hence, the Court required the respondents to reconsider the petitioner’s case along with bearing in mind the concept of ‘doctrine of proportionality’.[Mohammad Abdul Moyeed v. Union of India, 2018 SCC OnLine Del 9959, dated 20-07-2018]