The Bombay High Court at Goa has issued a directive for the central government to submit an affidavit in response to a contempt petition concerning the handling of an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card application by advocate Aires Rodrigues.
In a significant development, Rodrigues accused the central government of failing to comply with a previous High Court order that mandated a reconsideration of his OCI card application. This order came after the High Court in July found that the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) had overstepped its boundaries by rejecting Rodrigues’ application without proper jurisdiction or authorization from the central government.
Senior Advocate A F Diniz, representing Rodrigues, argued that despite the High Court’s directive to the central government to issue a new decision on the application within 30 days, there had been no action taken to date. This lack of compliance prompted the filing of the contempt petition.
Responding to these allegations, central government standing counsel Raviraj Chodankar indicated that the government is currently preparing to challenge the High Court’s July decision at the Supreme Court.
