HC asks Centre to inform American woman why she was blacklisted

The Delhi High Court today directed the Centre to inform an American woman the reasons for blacklisting her and denying her entry into India, within five days.

The direction by a bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and A K Chawla came after it perused the original records containing the decision taken against the 48-year-old American entrepreneur, who was detained at Chennai airport on January 5 when she arrived there and was sent back. Subsequently, she was blacklisted and denied entry into the country.

The court's order to provide the reasons for the decision came on the woman's plea against a single judge order of March 12 declining to give any interim relief to her.

After issuing the direction to the central government, represented by its standing counsel Jasmeet Singh, the court disposed of the appeal against the single judge order. The single judge had issued notice and sought the Centre's stand on the issue by May 22.

According to the plea of Kasha Elizabeth Vande, she was denied entry into India despite having a valid business visa. She has also claimed that she had been residing in India for 10 years before her deportation in January this year.

The government had earlier defended its action, telling the single judge that she was deported as she was running an NGO instead of a business for which she was granted the visa that was valid till 2027. It had told the court that the visa was given to the woman to come here to set up and run a business and not to live here for over a decade.

The woman, in her plea, had claimed that she was running an organisation which was promoting tourism in Puducherry with the support and permission of the government there. According to her plea, she was running a cafe and boutique named Kasha ki Asha in Puducherry.

A plea was moved in January challenging her detention at the Chennai airport when she had returned from the US. However, by the time the matter reached the court, she had already been sent back.