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Delhi HC quashes lookout circular against Greenpeace activist

by IBNS 12 Mar 2015, 11:51 am

New Delhi, Mar 12 (IBNS): In a significant development, the Delhi High Court on Thursday quashed the lookout circular (LOC) issued against Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai.

Immediately after the court gave its order, Pillai tweeted: "Victory for democracy & free speech! This is a symbolic win for Indian people & movements who dare to have a different dream for our country."

 Reacting on the issue, Greenpeace India tweeted: "BREAKING: Delhi High Court orders govt to lift @PriyaPpillai's travel ban, remove her from suspicious persons list & expunge offload stamp!"

Pillai, Senior Campaigner with the organisation was stopped at the New Delhi airport by the immigration office and denied to get onboard her flight to London in Jan this year.
Pillai had valid business visa to visit London, where she was scheduled to address British Parliamentarians on January 14 on the rights of forest communities being infringed for coal mining in India.
 
She was invited by the British MPs to talk about her campaigning with local communities in Mahan, Madhya Pradesh, where a proposed coal mining project led by Essar, a London-based company, threatens to uproot the lives and livelihoods of the forest and the community which lives there.