New Delhi: Overseas citizens of India will be liable to lose their registration cards if they are charged with an offence attracting a jail term of at least seven years, or sentenced to prison for a term of no less than two years, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said Tuesday.
With this notification, the government has introduced the condition pertaining to registration of a “chargesheet” to the list of conditions under which the Government of India can cancel an OCI registration. Earlier, as per Section 7(D) of the Act, an OCI cardholder was liable to lose registration if sentenced to at least two years, within five years of the OCI registration.
In a gazette notification Tuesday, MHA declared that the decision was taken in exercise of powers granted to it under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by the clause (da) of section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), the Central Government hereby states that an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) registration shall be liable to get cancelled when a person has been sentenced to imprisonment for term of not less than two years or has been charge-sheeted for an offence entailing punishment of imprisonment for seven years or more,” it read.
Apart from these grounds, the government can also cancel registration in cases where an OCI shows disaffection towards the Constitution of India, as well as ‘communication or engagement with an enemy during wartime’.
There are more than 40 lakh OCI cardholders.
According to a gazette notification issued in March 2021, an OCI cardholder is entitled to benefits, including the grant of a multiple-entry lifelong visa that would allow them to visit India for any purpose, without having to register with the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer for the entire period of their stay in the country. Additionally, among other privileges, an OCI cardholder is entitled to purchase or sell immovable property, excluding agricultural land, house, or plantation property.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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This decision further erodes the status of OCI cardholders in India. How can OCI cardholders live in India and contribute meaningfully if their status is made so contingent that it can be revoked simply on the basis of them being charged with a crime?