Delhi HC seeks Centre's reply on journalist Angad Singh's plea challenging his 'blacklisting'
Darpan News Desk IANS, 28 Feb, 2023 11:15 AM
New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the Central government to file a proper counter affidavit to a Vice News journalist Angad Singh's plea challenging his deportation from Delhi to New York in August last year and being "blacklisted" despite being an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holder.
Appearing for the Centre, advocate Anurag Ahluwalia had last month told the court that as the US-based journalist has violated Section 11A of the Foreigners Order, 1948, which prohibits a foreigner from producing any picture, film or documentary without permission in writing from the Centre, he is a blacklisted subject.
During the hearing on Tuesday, appearing for Singh, Advocate Swathi Sukumar said that she had moved an amendment application against the blacklisting which was mentioned in the counter affidavit of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The FRRO, in an affidavit, told the court that Singh was blacklisted at the instance of the Consulate General of India in New York.
According to the affidavit, Singh had allegedly depicted India in a negative manner in the "India Burning" documentary.
Ahluwalia had earlier submitted that Singh was entering India on his journalist visa for a personal visit but he wasn't issued a visa for that.
On Tuesday, Sukumar further said that she did not have a copy of the blacklisting order.
Ahluwalia said that he would file a "detailed response". He added that the primary condition was that Singh comes to the place, makes a video, gives it to the consulate general for approval, once approved, then the video could have been made public.
Sukumar argued that the Centre had to seek instructions on whether any proceedings were initiated for cancellation of Singh's OCI card.
To this, Ahluwalia said that they have not initiated any proceedings as of now and added that filing the blacklisting order may not be necessary.
While allowing the amendment to the writ petition and directing the Centre to file a proper counter affidavit to the amended petition, the court noted: "It is submitted by the Centre that their stand would be stated in the counter affidavit which is now to be filed in the amended writ."
The court listed the matter for the next hearing in May.
Singh has covered important issues in his documentaries, including the Shaheen Bagh protests, the farmers' protests and the Covid-19 pandemic in India, among others.
In his plea, Singh has mentioned that his fundamental right under the Citizenship Act, 1955, is being violated by not letting him into India.
Earlier, Singh's counsel had sought a declaration that his deportation from the government was illegal and disclosure of all the materials and data available with the government related to him.
Accused Rahul Kumar was arrested by cyber crime police station team (east) of the Gurugram police on Monday. Rahul Kumar was on the run since June 2021 when he along with his accomplice had duped a Gurugram resident of Rs 51,218 on the pretext of renewing his vehicle policy.
The foundation stone of the cancer hospital, the first of its kind cancer care in north India, was laid by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 30, 2013. At that time Parkash Singh Badal was the Chief Minister of Punjab in a coalition of the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government.
The leader, who complained of uneasiness on Monday night, was taken to hospital at around 8 a.m. this morning, where she was declared brought dead. Sonali Phogat had contested the 2019 Haryana Assembly election from Adampur and lost to Congress candidate Kuldeep Bishnoi.
During investigation, it was found that Swapna is a school dropout but managed to get a degree certificate from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University. Based on the fake certificate and influence of high ranking officials like Sivasankar, she secured a plush job in the IT department which was headed by Vijayan.
Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asked Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF) Pankaj Kumar to enhance vigil at the borders of the state for checking smuggling of drugs and weapons from across the border. The Director General had called on the Chief Minister here on July 31.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sukhchain Singh Gill, while addressing his weekly press conference here, said they have recovered 11.73 kg heroin, 20 kg opium, 9 kg ganja, 5.76 quintals of poppy husk, and 28,000 tablets of Pharma opioids, besides recovering Rs 20 lakh drug money after carrying out cordon and search operations in drug-affected areas.
