Gujarat High Court has observed that citizens cannot be externed for raising their grievance against the government. The observation came as the court quashed the police’s externment order against the organiser of an anti-CAA protest.

Justice Paresh Upadhyay on Thursday set aside an externment order issued by Ahmedabad city police against 39-year-old activist Kaleem Siddiqui, who along with a few others had organised a sit-in in January and March 2020 against the new citizenship regime.

According to the order, issued in November 2020, Siddiqui was barred from entering Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Kheda and Mehsana districts for a year. Siddiqui challenged the order in the high court, which in March stayed its execution.

“A citizen cannot be subjected to externment for raising his grievance against the government,” Justice Upadhyay said, quashing the order.