The Delhi High Court on May 25 granted time to the Central government to respond to an affidavit filed by Siddharth Varadarajan concerning the alleged non-disclosure of bail conditions imposed on him by the Allahabad High Court in his plea seeking an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.
When the matter was taken up before Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, Senior Advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for Varadarajan, informed the Court that the petitioner had filed an affidavit in compliance with the High Court’s May 14 order.
Varadarajan has challenged the Centre’s decision rejecting his request for conversion of his Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card into an OCI card.
Earlier, the High Court had observed that Varadarajan was prima facie guilty of suppressing material facts relating to the bail conditions imposed by the Allahabad High Court. The Court had directed him to file an affidavit explaining his conduct and had also recalled its earlier order which had set aside the Centre’s rejection of his OCI application.
Counsel appearing for the respondents then sought time to file a counter affidavit to the petitioner’s affidavit. Accepting the request, the Court listed the matter for hearing on July 15.
Denying a request from the petitioner’s counsel for an expedited hearing date in July, the Court observed that the litigant had compromised the Court’s sympathy by failing to disclose the bail conditions. The Court nevertheless noted that its prior findings remained prima facie in nature.
At this stage, counsel for the petitioner urged the Court to consider the surrounding circumstances before arriving at any final conclusion.
The Centre had earlier argued before the High Court that the Allahabad High Court’s 2020 order was conveniently suppressed by Varadarajan. According to the government, the bail order specifically required him not to leave India without prior permission of the trial court during the pendency of the trial and also directed him to surrender his passport before the trial court.
The matter will now be heard on July 15.
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