Delhi High Court today dismissed a PIL seeking deportation and cancellation of the visa given to controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen by the Indian government, saying there was no public interest in the matter. A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath said that there is no public interest in the matter.

The court rejected the petition filed by an NGO which claimed that the author had violated the Foreigners Order of 1948 and the Foreigners Act of 1946 by preparing scripts for a film and a serial. The NGO claimed Nasreen had indulged in anti-national activities by preparing the script for a TV serial, which was to be aired in West Bengal in 2013 but was deferred due to protests by some religious groups.

It has also alleged that she scripted a Bengali film Nirbashito, purportedly based on her life, which was shown at the Delhi International Film Festival in 2014. The NGO has said that the activities were in violation of the statute which prohibited preparing scripts for films and serials by a foreigner without permission from the government. It has sought cancellation of her visa, which was extended for a year in August this year by the government, and sought her deportation.