HC says freedom of faith for all, restores OCI status of doctor

Justice Vibhu Bakhru said that “a person has the right to practice his faith and his rendering medical services in furtherance of religion cannot be denied”.

Restoring the Overseas Citizen India (OCI) status of a Kerala-born doctor accused of “missionary activities” in India, the Delhi High court on Tuesday said that “all persons in this country have a right to practice their faith in the manner they consider fit so long as it does not offend any other person”.

Justice Vibhu Bakhru said that “a person has the right to practice his faith and his rendering medical services in furtherance of religion cannot be denied”.

It added that the order passed by the Centre was “wholly perverse and militates against the secular values engulfed in the Indian Constitution”.

“All persons have a right to practice their faith in the manner they consider fit so long as it does not offend any other person,” the court said.