The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Union government to respond to a petition filed by India-born British academic Nitasha Kaul, who has challenged the cancellation of her Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) status and the decision to blacklist her from entering the country.
Justice Sachin Datta issued notice to the Centre on both the main writ petition and an interim application in which Kaul has sought a stay on the operation of the OCI cancellation order.
As part of her interim prayer, Kaul has requested permission to enter India for three weeks to visit her aged and ailing mother.
The court has listed the matter for further hearing in January.
Kaul, a professor of International Relations at the University of Westminster, said she has been “repeatedly targeted” for her academic writings and public engagements. She alleged that the authorities have not provided any specific allegations or evidence and have relied on non-speaking orders.
Her petition, filed through advocate Aadil Singh Boparai, states:
“The impugned OCI cancellation order dated March 6, 2025 and the purported blacklisting order is in the teeth of the principles of natural justice, the petitioner’s constitutional rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution and statutory rights conferred under Section 7 of the Citizenship Act as well as the Foreigners Act which encompasses within its ambit the rights to procedural fairness, transparency, and proportionality.”
Kaul has also told the court that she is being prevented from meeting her 72-year-old ailing mother, who resides in Delhi and has long-standing health complications.
According to earlier reports referenced in the petition, Kaul was invited by the Karnataka government to speak at a conference in February 2024. Despite holding a UK passport and a valid OCI card at the time, she was denied entry at Bengaluru airport, detained for nearly 24 hours in a holding cell, and subsequently deported.
In May 2025, the central government cancelled her OCI status. The cancellation letter accused her of engaging in “anti-India” activities and claimed her writings and speeches targeted India’s sovereignty.
Her petition argues that the actions of the authorities “smack of arbitrariness and high-handedness” and show “an utter disregard for the rule of law in a free and democratic society.”
