Rangin Tripathy, a Fulbright Post-Doctoral Research Scholar at the Harvard Law School, writing on www.scroll.in on January 27, noted, “So far, OCI card holders have enjoyed benefits. With CAA, India has put a price on the scheme.” (see the full Act here)
It was first reported by the Press Trust of India in December, when one of its news story claimed that with the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, the Indian Government has toughened up the rules for Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders.
Now, Rangin Tripathy, a Fulbright Post-Doctoral Research Scholar at the Harvard Law School, had added his voice to this concern.
Writing on www.scroll.in on January 27, Tripathy noted, “So far, OCI card holders have enjoyed benefits. With CAA, India has put a price on the scheme.”
New changes
Amid the discussions and ongoing protests on CAA, he says, “ two changes in the amendment concerning Overseas Indian Citizens have largely escaped attention. Firstly, a new provision has been added to allow an individual’s Overseas Citizen of India status to be cancelled. Under Section 7D of the Citizenship Act 1955, an individual could lose her OCI if she violates any of the provisions of Citizenship Act 1955 or the provisions of any other law as specified by the Central government. Secondly, a proviso has been added that mandates that an individual’s OCI status should not be cancelled without the person being given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.”
Past
To be sure though, as Tripathy himself mentions, “grounds for OCI status to be cancelled already existed in Section 7D of the Citizenship Act.” But these conditions were very generic in nature. Such as indulging in fraud, misrepresentation or concealment of facts, imprisonment for more than two years, or not keeping India’s interests in mind while dealing with other states or individuals, he argues. “The new clause would make it possible for the Indian Government to specify legal obligations in force in India that OCI card holders would be required to abide by. Thus, even if the OCI card holders may not be subject to the jurisdiction of Indian courts for the majority of their activities, they might be subject to obligations under Indian law to maintain their OCI status,” he notes.
Impact on Kiwi-Indians?
While in his article, Tripathy gives an example of US, his concerns might as well apply to the Kiwi-Indian community, which is much used to enjoying the free speech and democratic rights that the system in New Zealand permits.
As a comparison, in 2019 Democracy Index published by The Economist, New Zealand ranks four, while India is at the 51st position.
In the 2019 World Press Freedom Index, while New Zealand ranks seven, India is at a shocking 140th ranking.
So in theory, a Kiwi-Indian with a OCI card, may lose his or her OCI status, for a freedom of speech act, not considered criminal in New Zealand, but is a criminal offence in India.
It must be stressed though, that these are just assumptions.
As indicated by the Fullbright Scholar himself, how much impact the amended Section 7D of India’s Citizenship Act, 1955, will have on OCI cardholders, “will depend entirely on the specific laws that the government selects and it may pose peculiar problems for OCI card holders. There is no clarity on whether the government will select criminal laws or civil laws.”
And till such clarity emerges, OCI cardholders all over the world are waiting with bated breath.
-Gaurav Sharma