[1][2] The main aim of the act was to detain and restrict Sikh immigrants returning from Canada and the United States under plans made by the Ghadar Party to initiate rebellion against British rule in India with help from Imperial Germany.
[3][4] It was first applied against the passengers of the Komagata Maru upon her arrival at Calcutta, and subsequently against Ghadarites who attempted to return to India through other ports throughout the war.
The ordinance was also used to detain and deport suspected Ghadarites as far away as Shanghai back to their villages in Punjab for internment.
[5] Coordinating with British Intelligence services in North America led by W. C. Hopkinson, authorities in India were able to compile lists of suspected Ghadarites who had set sail from North America for India, and passengers disembarking at Indian ports were subjected to the ordinance.
[6] As a uniform rule all emigrants from North America as well as Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Manila were restricted.