Point of Law: Section 5(1)(d) of Act mandates that both parents are required to be Indian citizens for purpose of grant of citizenship to minors.

ORDER :

The petitioners are before this Court seeking a direction by issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus to consider their representation dated 05-05-2022 filed through their mother, natural guardian for issuance of a passport in their favour and also grant them citizenship in terms of law.

2. Heard Sri S.Sudharsan, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, Sri Aditya Singh, learned Central Government Counsel appearing for respondents 1 and 3 and Sri B.V. Krishna, learned Additional Government Advocate for respondent No.2.

3. Brief facts that lead the petitioners to this Court in the subject petition, as borne out from the pleadings, are as follows:-

The petitioners are the children of one Smt. Ameena Rahil and Sri. Assad Malik, mother and father, who will be hereinafter referred to as such. The mother of the petitioners is an Indian citizen. The father of the petitioners is a Pakistan national. Marriage between the two would take place on 11-04-2002 at Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The petitioners were born from the wedlock at the UAE and are currently aged 17 and 14 years respectively. Long after the marriage and birth of the petitioners herein there were non-compatible issues between the father and the mother and accordingly, they approached the jurisdictional personal Court at Dubai. The Court on considering the application in terms of personal laws applicable to wife and the husband dissolves the marriage on 07-09-2014. After the dissolution of marriage, the mother of the petitioners was conferred with permanent and sole custody of the minor children i.e., the petitioners herein. The husband had himself relinquished all his claims over the custody of his children and had filed such an agreement before the concerned Court at Dubai. Therefore, the petitioners are in the custody of the mother is the averment which is in tune with the records produced.

4. The petitioners then approached the Indian Consulate at Dubai and submitted a representation in the prescribed form for conferring Indian citizenship and the Consulate appears to have directed them to surrender the Pakistan passport which the petitioners had in their favour being the children of Sri Assad Malik, the father who was a Pakistan national. The petitioners then surrendered the Pakistan passport with the Indian Consulate in Dubai. It is, therefore, Islamic Republic of Pakistan Consulate issued a no objection to correspond with the Indian Consulate at UAE and completion of formalities.

5. When the petitioners wanted to come to India, they had no Indian passport. At that point in time, the Indian Consulate at Dubai on a representation made by the petitioners had given temporary Indian passport on 31-05-2021 with an endorsement that citizenship status of the petitioners is pending with the Ministry of Home Affairs and passport is issued on humanitarian grounds. The petitioners, on the strength of the temporary passport, travelled to India and are now staying in India with their mother. That passport having expired, the petitioners submitted representations to the concerned and have been so representing for the last one year. Those representations having gone unheeded, the petitioners are driven to this Court in the subject petition, seeking a direction by issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus for consideration of their cases for conferment of citizenship right as sought in the representations.

6. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioners would contend that the petitioners are in a situation where they have no identity. They have surrendered their Pakistan passports that they had which were granted to them on the strength of their father being a Pakistan national. Temporary passports granted to the petitioners clearly indicated that citizenship status of the petitioners was pending before the Ministry of Home Affairs. The situation now is that the petitioners are nowhere without an identity. Since the mother of the petitioners is an Indian c