MHA Justifies Cancellation of U.S. Journalist's OCI Card

A discreet Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against Satter for 'maliciously creating adverse and biased opinion against Indian institutions in the international arena.'

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

Two months after The Sunday Guardian reported that the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card of U.S.-based journalist Raphael Satter was cancelled by the Indian government for allegedly violating visa rules, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has now submitted a detailed counter affidavit in the Delhi High Court confirming that the decision was based on specific violations of OCI conditions including engaging in prohibited activities and intelligence inputs from security agencies.

The affidavit, filed on 21 May 2025, just ahead of the scheduled hearing on 22 May, offers the government's first formal legal defence of its action and reveals for the first time that a discreet Look Out Circular (LOC) had also been issued against Satter for "maliciously creating adverse and biased opinion against Indian institutions in the international arena."

According to the MHA, Satter—a Reuters journalist who obtained an OCI card by virtue of being married to an Indian citizen—attended the Nullcon cybersecurity conference held in Goa on 9-10 September 2022 without obtaining prior permission from the Indian government, as required under the 2021 OCI guidelines. This was revealed by The Sunday Guardian in March. (U.S. journalist's OCI was cancelled for violating rules).

These guidelines, notified through S.O. 1050(E) dated 4 March 2021, make it mandatory for OCI holders to seek special permission before engaging in activities such as journalism, research, missionary work, and mountaineering while in India.

The government affidavit states that Satter's attendance at the Nullcon conference, and his participation in journalistic activities during the same visit, amounted to a violation of these rules.

The security agencies, according to the affidavit, flagged this as a breach under Paragraph 1(i) of the 2021 notification.