Media misreport that Aatish Taseer moved Supreme Court to challenge OCI cancellation

The home ministry had recently revoked the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card status held by Aatish Taseer, the journalist who had penned a TIME magazine cover story on prime minister Narendra Modi ahead of Lok Sabha polls. The government denied that the move came as a direct fallout of his critical reportage and tweeted that Taseer had ‘concealed’ his father’s Pakistani identity – a claim refuted by the journalist.

Mainstream media outlets – Zee News, Republic TV, OneIndia – have claimed in recent reports that Taseer has moved the Supreme Court against the government’s action. Republic TV’s report is no longer available.

Zee Hindustan was one of the firsts to claim that Taseer filed a petition in the SC to challenge the revocation of his OCI card (archive).

ब्रिटिश नागरिक और लेखक #AatishTaseer ने #SupremeCourt का दरवाजा खटखटाया. सुप्रीम कोर्ट में याचिका दायर कर ओवरसीज सिटिजन ऑफ इंडिया (#OCI) कार्ड वापस लेने के सरकार के फैसले को चुनौती दी है. दरअसल, पिछले हफ्ते ही सरकार ने आतिश तासीर का ओसीआई कार्ड वापस ले लिया था.#ZeeHindustan

— ZEE HINDUSTAN (@Zee_Hindustan) November 22, 2019

Website News Nation also published an article claiming the same. So did Russian news organisation Sputnik.

#BREAKING | Aatish Taseer moves Supreme Court against Modi government’s decision to revoke OIC status#AatishTaseer @AatishTaseerhttps://t.co/AZFftN0cWF

— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) November 22, 2019

“FAKE NEWS”: AATISH TASEER

Aatish Taseer quote-tweeted the report by Zee News and termed the story “fake news”. Speaking with Alt News, the journalist and author said, “We have not filed a petition at the Supreme Court. We are still in the process of preparing our legal strategy.”

Fake news. Also being circulated by that other government source of misinformation: Republic TV. ⁦ CC: ⁦⁦@free_thinker⁩ ⁦@AltNews⁩ https://t.co/0zLLglYCh9

— Aatish Taseer (@AatishTaseer) November 22, 2019

In a November 12 report in The Hindu, Taseer said that he will be challenging the cancellation of his OCI status however the report has no mention of the due process. He told the media outlet. “I have had some hesitations given the huge costs and the long delays in a legal battle. But so many people have reached out and told me that if I don’t fight what the government has done, I would be letting them get away with it.”

That same day, the journalist had tweeted “it’s true, we’re fighting” with again, no mention of the SC.

It’s true: we’re fighting. https://t.co/95TVZb9FEo pic.twitter.com/Zy0DpqVuYW

— Aatish Taseer (@AatishTaseer) November 12, 2019

Multiple media outlets therefore falsely reported that Aatish Taseer has filed a petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the revocation of his OCI status. It remains unclear what prompted the premature reports.