Child Cannot Be Left 'Stateless'; Even If Parents Give Up Indian Citizenship, Child Will Continue To Be Citizen: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court bench at Goa on Wednesday (August 28) held that a child cannot be denied Indian citizenship just because s/he lives with a single parent, who too is a foreign national.

A division bench of Justices Makarand Karnik and Valmiki SA Menezes said a parent giving up Indian citizenship would not affect the citizenship status of the child, who got Indian citizenship by virtue of birth.

"Once we find that the petitioner is a citizen of India, refusal of the passport on the ground mentioned in the impugned order is not sustainable. The view that the petitioner is not eligible for the Indian Passport since the applicant (mother) is a single parent minor child and the physical custody of the petitioner is with the parent who is a foreign national, is unsustainable. The acquisition of a foreign nationality by the petitioner's mother will not affect the citizenship status of the petitioner. The child cannot be left 'stateless." the judges held in the order.

The judges, therefore, held that the petition filed by one Chrisella Valanka Kushi Raj Naidu must succeed.

"The impugned order issued by The High Commission of India, Passport & Consular Wing in United Kingdom is set aside. The petitioner is entitled to be issued a passport on the basis of her Indian citizenship," the judges ordered.

The bench was seized with a plea filed by Naidu, a minor (16 years) challenging the August 5, 2020 order passed by the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom refusing to renew the passport of the petitioner on the ground that she is living with a 'single-parent' who is not an Indian citizen.

Notably, the petitioner was born on October 27, 2007, while both her parents lived in Goa. However, when she was nearly three years old, her father abandoned her and her mother. At that point in time, both the parents of the petitioner were Indian citizens, she therefore acquired Indian citizenship by virtue of birth, as provided in the Citizenship Act, 1955.

However, on February 10, 2015, the petitioner's mother gave up Indian citizenship and got herself registered as a citizen of Portugal since she got some work opportunities abroad. From then, the petitioner and her mother shifted to the United Kingdom, where the mother worked and even got the petitioner admitted in a school in the UK. However, by December 2, 2019, the petitioner's Indian Passport expired. She, therefore, applied for renewal of the same with the Indian High Commission. She was, however, denied a new passport by the August 5, 2020 order.

Aggrieved with this order, she petitioned the High Court bench led by Justice Karnik, which referred to various provisions of the Citizenship Act and also the Passports Act, 1967 and found that the authorities of the Indian High Commission in the UK, erred in passing the impugned order.

Appearance:

Advocate Abhijeet Kamat appeared for the Petitioner.

Standing Counsel Raviraj Chodankar represented the Union of India.

Case Title: Chrisella Valanka Kushi Raj Naidu vs Ministry of External Affairs (WP/135/2024)

Click Here To Read/Download Judgment Here.