The home ministry has defended its decision to stop Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai's travel to London in a court affidavit that says her deposition before the British Parliament would leave India open to sanctions by the West.
Ms Pillai was off-loaded from a flight to London on January 11. In its affidavit to the Delhi High Court, the home ministry argued that a "Look Out Circular" had been issued for the activist by the Intelligence Bureau in January.
The circular said Ms Pillai had to be stopped from leaving India since "she was going to project the image of the Indian government negatively" abroad. The campaigner was to make a presentation before an Indo-British all-party Parliamentary Group on tribal rights violations, as alleged by Greenpeace, in Madhya Pradesh's Mahan coal block.
The government cited two bizarre reasons for its action. It said that unlike Ms Pillai, other prominent activists like Medha Patkar and Aruna Roy never testified before foreign parliaments; "they relied on all the institutions of India's vibrant democracy as provided by the Constitution."
A Look out Circular is usually issued by investigating agencies against criminals or on credible intelligence about terrorist activity.
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