New Delhi, Feb 19 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Thursday reserved its order on a plea filed by Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai challenging her offloading Jan 11 at the airport here.
Justice Rajiv Shakdher reserved the order after advocates for the central government and Pillai concluded their arguments in the case.
Senior advocate Indira Jaisingh appearing for Pillai objected to the government's move and told the court that the Greenpeace activist has a fundamental right to express her opinion on issues both nationally and internationally.
"There is no law that has been invoked by the government to justify their action of preventing her from exercising her fundamental right of speech and expression before members of parliament in Britain," she told the court.
The central government had earlier told the court that Pillai has been "involved in anti-national activities" and that was why she was offloaded at the airport here, when she was going to London to attend a meeting.
The central government had offloaded Pillai and issued Look Out Circular (LOC), against which she moved the court.
Jaisingh argued that LOC was issued "without any authority of law".
The high court has termed "inappropriate" the central government's decision to prevent Pillai from leaving India on the ground that she would project a negative image of the country at the international level.
In her petition, she said that her offloading was "illegal and arbitrary" and she had a valid business visa for six months to visit London where she was scheduled to address British parliamentarians Jan 14.
Pillai was invited by British MPs to talk about her campaign with local communities in Mahan, Madhya Pradesh, where a proposed coal mining project is threatening to uproot the lives and livelihood of the community.
China's action on the air border, Chinese plane passed close to Indian soldiers
China has once again violated the Indian airspace. A Chinese Air Force aircraft flew very close to Indian soldiers stationed in eastern Ladakh. This incident is said to have happened near the LAC in
How to protect children from the third wave of corona? Do not take high fever lightly, know
The third wave of the corona is also fatal for children. Doctors have been instructed to take precautions for the children. Ignoring any symptoms in children can be a burden on you. If the child is
Assam: 'Mughals shaped India, I am proud of them', controversial statement of Congress MP Abdul Khaliq
Abdul Khaliq, Lok Sabha MP from Assam's Barpeta constituency, has made a big deal about the Mughals. He said that the Mughals gave India the form of Hindustan, divided into small states, so I am proud
Mufti to be sworn in as Kashmir CM Sunday, Modi to attend
Jammu, Feb 28 (IANS) PDP patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed will be sworn in as the new chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Sunday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The Peoples Democratic
Violence: A huge decline in the incidents of violence in India, claims in the book – Terrorist incidents reduced by 70 percent
There has been a drastic reduction in incidents of violence in India in recent years. This claim has been made in a new book. The upcoming book 'Internal Security in India: Violence, Order, and the
If war happens, India will be victorious, China gave this reaction on the statement of Army Chief Naravane
The country's army chief Manoj Mukund Naravane said on Wednesday that India's military strength has increased significantly in the last 18 months. He assured that India would return victorious in the
Unemployed youths reached UP from Rajasthan to narrate pain to Priyanka Gandhi if CM Gehlot did not listen, hunger strike at Congress office in Lucknow
After shirtless agitation, offering roses to ministers, and going on hunger strike, unemployed youths of Rajasthan have started dharna outside the Congress office in Lucknow. These youths are
India is buying the most crude oil from Russia: 11.9 lakh barrels of oil were imported every day in December; Purchases increased 32 times
India bought the maximum crude oil from Russia in December 2022. Earlier this happened in October and November also. According to energy cargo tracker Vortexa, India bought an average of 1.19 million
Corona continues to wreak havoc in UP, breaks all old records, 20510 new patients found in one day
The state of coronavirus is getting worse in the country's largest state Uttar Pradesh by population. The virus has broken all the old records here. The state has received 20,510 new cases during the
Air Travel Covid Guidelines: It is no longer mandatory to wear a face mask during air travel, wear it for safety
The cases of coronavirus infection have reduced significantly in the country and the havoc of the virus has now reduced considerably. Because of the decrease in infection, now the restrictions imposed