Turkey-based ground-handling service company Çelebi, in its petition to Delhi High Court on Friday, termed the Centre's decision to revoke its security clearance as "vague, illegal and against the principle of natural justice".

Çelebi explained to the high court how the company, facing backlash in the social media in the aftermath of the India-Pakistan conflict, wrote a letter on May 14 to several government officials — secretary in the ministry of home affairs, civil aviation minister Rammohan Naidu, secretary in the civil aviation ministry and director-general of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security — informing about its structure.

In the petition, which is likely to be listed for hearing next week, the company raised questions on the criteria for treating it as a "national security threat".

Celebi, in its letter to the government, had stressed that the company and its associated entities were purely commercial. "We have no political affiliations, nor do we subscribe to or align with any political stance or ideology — whether domestic or foreign. While Çelebi Aviation Holding, the ultimate parent company of our India operations, is incorporated in Turkey, it is important to clarify that over 65 per cent of its ownership rests with international institutional investors. These include respected blue-chip funds based in Canada, the US, Singapore, the UAE, and Western Europe," the company said in its representation to the government.