Automatic Termination Of Indian Citizenship On Acquiring Another Citizenship Is Unconstitutional:
LSE Professor's Plea In Supreme Court Listen to this Article Sheryl Sebastian (/sheryl-sebastian) 10 Oct 2023 10:22 AM The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Central Government in a petition filed by Constitutional scholar and Public Law Chair at the London School of Economics, Professor Tarunabh Khaitan, challenging the constitutionality of the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 that automatically terminates Indian citizenship upon acquisition of another citizenship. A bench of Justice AS Bopanna and Justice MM Sundresh while issuing notice in Khaitan's plea, tagged it along with other connected matters. Khaitan has challenged the constitutionality of Section 9(1), the second proviso to Section 4(1), and Section 4(1A) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 insofar as these provisions result in an involuntary and automatic termination of Indian citizenship upon acquisition of another citizenship. The petition, contends that "involuntary termination of citizenship is not only unconstitutional, it also militates against the values of the Indian constitutional ethos and violates international law. Such termination leads to involuntary deprivation of the “right to have rights” which is akin to exile and, therefore, one of the harshest consequences the law can visit upon an individual for a non-criminal act". It also places India with some of the most illiberal countries where the loss of citizenship is automatic and involuntary, the plea states. The petitioner has made it clear that he is not seeking a general recognition of dual citizenship. The petition challenges the involuntary termination of citizenship under the impugned provisions, since it forces individuals to choose between their country of birth and their country of domicileThe petitioner contends that the grant of ‘Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder’ status that he would become eligible for after termination of his Indian citizenship is not comparable to the benefits offered by citizenship. KR IRS 11 10 23 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZorLV6S-5X0ZsOAdYQ%2BSBttEjNWWC26f%2BmA9%2BiViexy1yw%40mail.gmail.com.
