Punjab & Haryana High Court Stays Deportation Of Indian Origin Person To Kenya

In a petition filed before Punjab and Haryana High Court raising an important question with regard to Section 9(2) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 which envisages an opportunity to be heard before taking any decision, a division bench consisting of Justice Rajan Gupta and Justice Karamjit Singh, while issuing notice of motion to the parties, issued stay orders on the deportation of the petitioner to Kenya till next date of hearing.

Brief facts of the case are that petitioner preferred this petition stating that petitioner contacted a travel agent in the year 2001 with the intention to go to USA, however, he was duped by the said travel agent and sent to Kenya instead of USA. Petitioner was forced to stay in Kenya in compelling circumstances and had to apply for Kenyan citizenship and passport in the year 2009. The petitioner surrendered his Indian passport and came to India time to time after getting Indian visa on Kenyan Passport.

Thereafter, he visited India a number of times to his family and decided to permanently settle in India in the year 2014 & took a visa for India valid upto June 2015. Petitioner entered India in February 2015 and since then he has been staying in India with his family.

Thereafter, in January 2021 police visited the petitioner's house and served a notice asking him to leave India as he was considered to be a foreigner and was overstaying in India in violation of visa norms as per Foreigner Act 1946. The police took the petitioner with them with a purpose to deport him to Kenya but respectable of village panchayat intervened and assured that the petitioner is resident of India and his citizenship is liable to be resorted.

Faced with the difficulties, petitioner approached the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer, Bureau of Immigration (MHA) Govt. of India and filed a representation requesting his status as foreigner be terminated and he may be granted Indian citizenship. But despite all efforts, petitioner received no responses from the Authorities till date.

In view of the grant of Kenyan citizenship to petitioner, his Indian citizenship automatically terminated. However, petitioner has stated in his petition that since he is born in India, has permanent place of residence in India, parents of petitioner belong to India and wife of petitioner is also an Indian citizen, keeping in view all this, Indian citizenship of the petitioner is liable to be resorted. It is the case of petitioner that he has not been given opportunity of hearing before deportation order.

On hearing the parties the division bench today, while issuing notice of motion to respondents stayed the deportation of petitioner to Kenya till next date of hearing. Advance copy of the petition has been supplied to counsel for respondents.

The counsel for the respondents has been left at liberty to seek instructions and file an affidavit, if necessary. Counsel for respondent was further directed to find out the antecedents of petitioner and if anything is adverse, it shall be brought to the notice of court in a sealed cover.

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