The provisions of citizenship are covered in Articles 5 to 11 of Indian Constitution and are included in part II of the Constitution.
Article 5 refers to citizenship not in any general sense but to citizenship on the date of the commencement of the Constitution. Accordingly, at the commencement of the Constitution, every person who had his domicile in the territory of India and
(a) Who was born in India, or
(b) either of whose parents was born in India, or
(c) Who had been ordinarily resident in India for not less than five years immediately preceding the commencement of the Constitution, Was to be considered a citizen of India.
The Citizenship Act, 1955
A comprehensive law dealing with citizens was passed by Parliament in 1955 in accordance with the powers vested init by Article 11 of the Constitution. The provisions of the Act may be broadly divided into three parts, acquisition of citizenship, termination of citizenship and supplemental provisions.
Acquisition of Citizenship
The Act provides five modes of acquiring the citizenship of India. These are:
- By Birth: Every person born in India on or after January 26, 1950, shall be a citizen of India by birth. There are two exceptions, to this rule, namely, children born to foreign diplomatic personnel in India and those of enemy aliens whose birth occurs in a place then under occupation by the enemy.
- By Descent: A person born outside India on or after January 26, 1950, shall be citizen of India by descent of his father or mother is a citizen of India at the time of his birth. Children of those who are citizens of India by descent, as also children of non-citizens who are in service under a government in India, may also take advantage of this provision and become Indian citizens by descent, if they so desire, through registration.
- By Registration: Any person who is not already an Indian citizen by virtue of the provisions of the Constitution or those of this Act can acquire citizenship by registration if that person belongs to any one of the following five categories:
(a) Persons of Indian origin who are ordinarily resident in India and who have been so resident for at least six months immediately before making an application for registration.
(b) Persons of Indian origin who are ordinarily resident in any country or place outside undivided India;
(c) Women who are, or have been, married to citizens of India;
(d) Minor Children of persons who are citizens of India; and
(e) Persons of full age and capacity who are citizen of the Common wealth countries or the Republic of Ireland.
4. By Naturalisation: Any person who does not come under any of the categories mentioned above can acquire Indian citizenship by naturalisation if his application for the same has been accepted by the Government of India and certificate is granted to him to that effect.An applicant for a naturalisation certificate has to satisfy the following conditions:
- He is not a citizen of a country which prohibits Indians becoming citizens of that country by naturalisation;
- He has renounced the citizenship of the country to which he belonged;
- He has either resided in India or has been in the service of a government in India, normally, for one year immediately prior to the date of application;
- During the seven year Proceeding the above mentioned one year, he has resided in India or been in the service of a government in India for a period amounting in the aggregate to not less than four years;
- He is of good character;
- He has an adequate knowledge of a language specified in the Constitution;
- If granted a certificate, he intends to reside in India or enter into, or continue in service under a government in India.
(5) By Incorporation of Territory: If any territory becomes part of India, the Government of India, by order, may specify the persons who shall be citizen of India by reason of their connection with that territory.Termination of Citizenship
The Act envisage three situations under which a citizen of India may lose his Indian nationality.
These are:
- By Renunciation: If any citizen of India who is also a national of another country renounces his Indian citizenship through a declaration in the prescribed manner, he ceases to be an Indian citizen of registration of such declaration. When a male person ceases to be a citizen of India, every minor child of his also ceases to be a citizen of India. However, such a child may within one year after attaining full age, becomes Indian citizen by making a declaration of his intention to resume Indian citizenship.
- By Termination: Any person who acquired Indian citizenship by naturalisation, registrationor otherwise, of he or she voluntarily acquired the citizenship of another country at any time between January 26, 1950, the date of commencement of the Constitution, and December 30, 1955, the date of commencement of this Act, shall have ceased to be a citizen of India from the date of such acquisition.
- By Deprivation: The central Government is empowered to deprive a citizen of his citizenship by issuing an order under 10 of the Act. But, this power of the Government may not be used in case of every citizen; it applies only to those who acquired Indian citizenship by naturalisation or by virtue only of clause (c) of Article 5 of the Constitution or by registration. The possible grounds of such deprivation are : obtaining of a citizenship certificate by means of fraud, flase representation, concealment of any material fact; disloyalty of disaffection towards the Constitution shown by act or speech; assisting an enemy with whom India is at war; sentence to imprisonment in any country for a term of not less than two years within the first five years after the acquisition of Indian citizenship and continuous residence outside Indian for a period of seven years without expressing in a prescribed manner his intention to retain his Indian citizenship. The Act also provides for reasonable safeguards in order to see that a proper procedure is followed in every case of deprivation of citizenship.
Single Citizenship
The most important aspect of the constitutional provisions dealing with citizenship is that it has established a unified or single system of citizenship law for the whole country. A citizen of India is accepted legally as a citizen in every part of the territory of India with almost all the benefits and privileges that attend such a status.
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