New Delhi: A US-based journalist working for an international news agency has challenged in the Delhi high court the cancellation of his overseas citizenship credentials, which followed the publication of an investigation into alleged mercenary hacking by an Indian firm.
The first hearing of the petition filed by Reuters journalist, Raphael Satter, through his Indian lawyer was held on Wednesday (March 12), but the order has not been uploaded so far. The legal challenge was first reported by the Guardian newspaper.
In a statement shared with The Wire, Satter, an investigative reporter covering cybersecurity, said the Ministry of Home Affairs had cancelled his Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card on December 4, 2023, a decision he said “has effectively cut me off from members of my family and a country I hold in great affection and respect”. He had obtained the OCI card a year earlier, qualifying through his marriage.
Report taken off, restored
Less than three weeks before the cancellation, Reuters published an investigative report, by Satter and two other reporters, detailing how the New Delhi-based firm Appin evolved from a computer training startup into a “hack-for-hire powerhouse that stole secrets from executives, politicians, military officials, and wealthy elites around the globe.”
A group calling itself the Association of Appin Training Centres had filed a lawsuit to block the report’s publication. A Delhi district court ordered Reuters to take down the report from its website, which the news agency complied with on December 4, 2023 – the same day Satter received the OCI cancellation order from the Indian government.
About a year later, the injunction was lifted, with the court observing on October 3, 2024 that “as yet, the plaintiff has not been able to show any prima facie case to make interference in the process of journalism”. The Reuters report was subsequently restored online.
‘Threats’
Satter noted that during the course of his reporting, he had “received a series of threats made by individuals associated with this hacking group, one of whom alluded to potential ‘diplomatic action’ unless I abandoned my reporting.”
He observed the Ministry of Home Affairs’ decision to cancel his OCI card must be a “mistake” or “misunderstanding”. “I myself cannot be certain as to why my overseas citizenship was cancelled, as no cogent reasons have been provided to me,” he said.
According to The Guardian, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated in the 2023 cancellation notice that the card was revoked because he had allegedly been “practising journalism without proper permission” and had “maliciously [been] creating adverse and biased opinion against Indian institutions in the international arena.”
Satter, who is based in the Washington DC area, has reported on cybersecurity and espionage, covering topics such as Russian hackers targeting the US, operations of US security agencies, the Israeli spyware industry, and China’s hacking activities.
Appeals
After receiving the cancellation notice, he had quickly submitted an appeal with the Home Ministry, but no response was received till now.
“Reluctantly, I now find it necessary to seek legal recourse to resolve this issue. My journalism has long been focused on issues of public interest and global importance, including cyber threats to Indian citizens and Indian institutions,” he said.
After receiving the cancellation notice, he quickly submitted an appeal to the Home Ministry but has yet to receive a response.
“Reluctantly, I now find it necessary to seek legal recourse to resolve this issue. My journalism has long been focused on issues of public interest and global importance, including cyber threats to Indian citizens and Indian institutions,” he said.
Right to rights
At the March 12 hearing, Satter’s Indian lawyer, Karuna Nundy, told the court that “Reasons are the heartbeat of any decision by the state,” adding, “Most especially, when such an important right is taken away – a right that is the right to have rights. An OCI right is the right to have a bouquet of rights.”
Satter expressed confidence that once “integrity of my journalism is demonstrated before the Indian courts and the true and correct facts are brought to the fore, the Ministry of Home Affairs will see fit to restore my OCI card”.
“India is the world’s largest democracy and citizens and OCI Card holders alike have long counted on its fair-minded judges to uphold their rights. I hope and trust that this matter shall be resolved soon,” he added in the written statement.
Nundy also told The Wire that Satter has “complete faith in the legal system.”
A likely target
There have been several reports of OCI card cancellations, most notably those of journalist Aatish Taseer and commentator Ashok Swain, both of whom had criticised the Modi government.
In response to an RTI application by Article 14, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that more than 102 OCI cards had been cancelled between 2014 and 2023 under Section 7D of the Citizenship Act, which cites grounds such as fraud, disaffection towards the Constitution, assistance to an enemy during war, and actions deemed against India’s interests.
The Indian government has also in recorded cases refused to renew journalism permits for OCI cardholders. Last year, two French journalists were forced to leave India after their permits were not renewed. One of them, Vanessa Dougnac, who had lived in India for 23 years, challenged the decision in the Delhi High Court in March last year, where the case remains ongoing.
