The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has criticised the immigration officials for refusing to allow Greenpeace campaigner Priya Pillai to fly to London. It described their action as “arbitrary, highhanded and illegal.”
In a statement on January 13, PUCL said she had a valid business visa and all her travel papers were in order. There was thus no acceptable reason for preventing her from travelling to London as she was neither a convicted person nor was there any judicial restraint order prohibiting her travel abroad.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had reportedly stated that they had no information about any travel restrictions on Ms. Pillai, while the immigration officials said they were acting on orders from the Government of India. PUCL said it was unlikely that such a drastic decision would be taken without instructions from the highest level.
