Priya Pillai’s passport was stamped ‘offload’ as she was prevented from boarding a flight to London where she was to speak about the impact of mining operations of a UK-listed company

An Indian court on Wednesday asked the government to explain why it had barred a Greenpeace staff member who held a valid visa from flying out of New Delhi.



Priya Pillai, a senior campaigner in India, was on her way to London earlier this month when immigration officials stopped her and stamped “offload” on her passport.

Pillai took legal action on breach of personal liberty grounds against the move, which the environmental campaign group described as “bullying” by the government.

Pillai’s lawyer Indira Jaising said the court asked three government departments to explain the 11 January “offloading” by next month.

“The Delhi high court today issued notices to the home ministry, intelligence bureau and immigration department asking them to reply before 6 February,” she told AFP.

Officials told Pillai at the time that she was barred from leaving the country and they were “just following orders from the Indian government”.

“We are satisfied that the court has taken cognisance of the plea,” Greenpeace senior campaigner Karuna Raina told AFP outside court.

Prime minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing government tightened controls over foreign fund transfers to Greenpeace India in June, following accusations that foreign-funded campaign groups were hurting India’s economy.

But the Delhi high court last week reaffirmed an earlier court order to unblock the thousands of dollars of Greenpeace funds.

India has clamped down on activist groups over the past two years and has restricted direct transfers of foreign donations, following campaigns that delayed important industrial projects.

The country’s biggest corporate groups have flocked behind business-friendly Modi, whose party, the BJP, swept to power in May on a pledge to revive the ailing economy.

But activists have expressed concern that the government’s dash for growth will mean a watering down of environmental standards and of land acquisition laws to favour business.