Delhi HC questions Siddharth Varadarajan for hiding travel restriction

The Delhi High Court questioned journalist Siddharth Varadarajan for not disclosing an Allahabad HC order needing permission to travel abroad. The court called it a 'very serious' matter, recalled its earlier orders, and asked him to file an affidavit.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday questioned journalist and The Wire founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan for not disclosing an Allahabad High Court order that required him to take permission before travelling abroad. Calling the issue "very serious", Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said the matter could have serious consequences and asked Varadarajan to explain his conduct by filing an affidavit.

The issue came up while the court was hearing Varadarajan's plea seeking permission to travel overseas. Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and advocate Ashish Dixit, appearing for the Central government, informed the court about a 2020 Allahabad High Court order directing Varadarajan not to leave the country without prior permission of the court. After going through the order, the Delhi High Court noted that the direction had not been placed before it earlier.

Court Recalls Earlier Orders

Senior Advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for Varadarajan, apologised before the court for not bringing the Allahabad High Court order on record. However, Justice Kaurav said an oral apology could not be accepted in such a matter and issued notice to Varadarajan seeking a reply within seven days. The High Court also recalled all its earlier orders passed in the case, including Tuesday's order by which it had set aside the Centre's decision refusing Varadarajan an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.

Background of OCI Card Case

On May 12, the court had quashed the government's April 2026 order rejecting Varadarajan's request for conversion of his Person of Indian Origin (PIO) status into OCI status. At that time, the court had observed that the government had not given proper reasons for rejecting the application and directed the authorities to reconsider the matter and pass a fresh reasoned order.

Varadarajan had argued before the court that he was originally a PIO card holder and that after PIO cards were treated as OCI cards in 2015, his card became unreadable, forcing him to apply for conversion. (ANI)

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