Citizenship if a person acquires foreign passport as a minor
Krishna N
(Querist) 18 July 2017
This query is : Resolved
A person was born in India in 1955. The law is clear that they automatically become a Citizen of India by birth as per Section 3(1) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The child’s parents were foreign citizens at the time, but the law is again clear that this has no impact on the child’s citizenship status.
The child then acquired a passport of a foreign country and travelled out of India while still being a Minor. My understanding is that minors acquiring foreign passport does not constitute voluntarily acquiring a foreign country’s passport, therefore they continue to be Indian citizens. Is my understanding correct?
That child continued to hold the foreign passport even after becoming a major at the age of 18, and never expressly renounced their citizenship. However, the Central Government never made a determination under Section 9 (2) of the Act in this person’s case. Does this mean the person continues to be a Citizen of India?
I have studied an article on this forum which cited the case law Bhagwati Prasad Dixit vs Rajeev Gandhi AIR 1986 SC 1534, which seems to support the view that unless a determination was made under Section 9(2), citizenship is assumed to continue.
Am I correct in this interpretation?
I welcome any counter arguments and references if any. Thank you!
Krishna N
(Querist) 19 July 2017
Thanks a lot! I have sent you an email on the askon5star id. Looking forward to hear from you!
Rajendra K Goyal
(Expert) 19 July 2017
Academic query.
State material facts of the problem if any.
How are you concerned / related with the query?
Kumar Doab
(Expert) 19 July 2017
While you have read article posted by you, it is not clear how are you related with the query and what is your concern in the matter!
