Cannot claim nationality unless conferred status by competent authority: HC

The Madras High Court has held that though documents such as Aadhaar, voter ID and marriage certificate have been obtained by a Sri Lanka-born national, she cannot claim to be an Indian national unless the status is conferred by the competent authority.

Justice T Raja dismissed a plea of the daughter of a Sri Lankan woman, who has been detained at the International Airport here for the past few weeks, seeking her release.

"Although she has produced the Aadhaar card, driving licence, voter identity card and the marriage registration certificate of her mother, her mother has not made any application before the competent authority seeking conferment of her status as an Indian citizen," the judge said in his order recently.

 

"Above all, since the Sri Lankan government has admitted the status of the petitioner's mother as Sri Lankan and also issued the passport inviting her to return to the country (Sri lanka), the writ petition fails," the judge said.

Following the ethnic war, the woman had migrated to Tamil Nadu in 1989 and has been residing in the state since then. She married an Indian citizen and had three children.

She applied for passport in 2004 and went to work as housemaid in Italy in 2007. She was also frequently visiting India. There was no problem with immigration authorities in India then, it was submitted.

But when she landed in Chennai from Italy on June 22 to attend her daughter's marriage at Tiruchirappalli, she was detained by authorities at the airport.

According to Immigration authorities she was a Lankan national by birth and had fraudulently obtained the Indian passport.

Authorities also found out that she held a Sri Lankan passport, which was issued on October 12, 1989 and expired on October 11, 1994.

Additional Solicitor General G. Rajagopalan, who appeared on behalf of the Union Government, submitted that since she wantonly suppressed the facts, she was refused entry into India and sent back to Sri Lanka on June 23.

But Lankan authorities sent her back the same day as she falsely claimed that she was an Indian national.

She was again sent back on June 24.

However, the Lankan immigration authority did not grant arrival clearance to her and requested Indian immigration to send her back to Sri Lanka on the strength of a valid emergency travel document issued by the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission.

Accordingly, the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission was asked to issue an emergency travel document to facilitate her return to Sri Lanka.

Thereafter, on June 24, an order was issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer, Chennai restricting her movement under the Foreigners Act, 1946.

Assailing the move, her daughter approached the high court seeking direction to the authorities to relieve her mother from detention and allow her to travel to Italy and join her employment.

Declining her claim, Justice Raja said a persual of the original passport issued by the Lankan government clearly shows that the petitioner's mother was born in Jaffna and her national status as Sri Lankan.

Therefore, the claim of the petitioner that by virtue of Section 5(1)(c) of the Citizenship Act, her mother has to be treated as an Indian, "is far from acceptance," the judge said and dismissed the plea.