The Delhi High Court on Tuesday quashed a Central Government order rejecting senior journalist and founding editor of The Wire Siddharth Varadarajan’s request for conversion of his Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card into an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, holding that the impugned decision was devoid of reasons and legally unsustainable.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav observed that the rejection order suffered from absence of reasoning and failed to satisfy the requirement of a speaking order under administrative law principles. The Court restored Varadarajan’s OCI application and directed the Union government to reconsider the matter and pass a fresh reasoned order in accordance with law.
Senior Advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for Varadarajan along with Advocate Archit Krishna, challenged the Centre’s April 2 communication on the grounds that Varadarajan has longstanding roots in India and has been residing in the country since 1995 on a PIO card. He submitted that following the statutory changes in 2015, PIO cards were deemed to have merged with the OCI regime, resulting in technical and operational issues with the petitioner’s existing documentation.
During the hearing, the Court examined the impugned communication and orally remarked that it disclosed no grounds or rationale for rejection. The Bench questioned the Union government on the legal sustainability of an unreasoned administrative determination.
Advocate Anasuya Choudhury, representing the Centre, sought time to obtain instructions, submitting that the relevant notification relied upon for rejecting the application was not immediately available.
The High Court, however, held that the communication could not withstand judicial scrutiny as it failed to disclose the basis for denial of the petitioner’s claim. The Bench emphasised that recording reasons was an essential facet of administrative adjudication and necessary for effective appellate review.
Accordingly, the Court set aside the impugned communication, restored the OCI application for fresh consideration and directed the competent authority to pass a reasoned and speaking order after examining Varadarajan’s entitlement under the applicable statutory framework. It further clarified that if the petitioner remained aggrieved by the fresh decision, he would be at liberty to pursue remedies available under law.
While disposing of the writ petition, the Bench listed the matter for further hearing on May 13 in relation to Varadarajan’s interim plea concerning travel permissions pending adjudication of his OCI application.
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