Fraudulent activities and lack of valid grounds for Visa extension and citizenship application render the petition lacking in merit.

ORDER :

The petitioner is before this Court calling in question cancellation/rejection of his application for extension of Visa by the rd respondent/Foreigners Regional Registration Officer and seeks a consequential direction by issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to consider his application for extension of Visa.

2. Facts adumbrated are as follows:

The petitioner is a citizen of Yemen, born in Yemen in 1974. In 2013 at the time when the petitioner was 39 years old comes to India to pursue a 3 year course in Master of Science and secures admission at T.John College of Nursing. The student Visa issued to the petitioner was valid from 07-08-2013 to 06-08-2014. The petitioner could not pursue his studies and his academic progression was a complete failure owing to language barrier and deteriorating health condition. On such consecutive failure, he goes back to Yemen on 28-05-2016. After about 4 months, on 14-10-2016, he comes back to India. The averment in the petition is that he comes back to India on visitation Visa to resolve the issue pertaining to his further studies and re-admission to the degree course. After coming to India, it is submitted that his health again deteriorated and he had converted visitation Visa to medical Visa. He was granted medical Visa from 10-03-2017 to 06-09-2017 for about 6 months and the medical Visa was initially a double entry Visa and a single entry Visa and again converted to double entry Visa. The last extension of Visa expired on 05-06-2023. The petitioner then applies for extension of Visa to the 3rd respondent. During the pendency of consideration of extension, he reveals that he had married an Indian by name Shenaz Khanum and on that strength submits an application to acquire Indian citizenship as a person having married an Indian citizen as also the fact that having stayed in India for more than 7 years, his application has to merit consideration on acquisition of citizenship by registration. The application for acquisition of Indian citizenship which was made on 14-08-2021 was not considered and, therefore, the petitioner reaches this Court in Writ Petition No.15305 of 2021. The application that was filed for extension of Visa is rejected by the 3rd respondent on 15-06-2023. The rejection of extension of Visa becomes the challenge in the subject petition.

3. Heard Mr. Rahamathulla Kothwal, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Sri H.Shanthi Bhushan, learned Deputy Solicitor General of India appearing for the respondents.

4. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner Mr. Rahamathulla Kothwal would vehemently contend that application of the petitioner could not have been rejected, as in terms of Section 5(1)(c) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’ for short) he is entitled to be treated as a Indian citizen on two grounds – one, he has married an Indian and the other, he is a resident of India for more than 7 years. On these two grounds the learned counsel would submit that a mandamus is to be issued to the respondents to treat the petitioner as an Indian citizen by grant of such citizenship. She would further contend that as on today the petitioner holds a valid passport of Yemen and it cannot be said that Visa cannot be extended or citizenship cannot be granted in the teeth of the Act and the Foreigners Act 1946.

5. On the other hand, the learned Deputy Solicitor General of India Sri H.Shanthi Bhushan would vehemently refute the submissions of the petitioner. He would take this Court through document by document contending that the petitioner has played fraud with the 3rd respondent. Though he is married and has three daughters in Yemen comes to India and marries an Indian citizen in 2019 only to make eligible for consideration of his citizenship in India. He has never been an inpatient in any hospital for him to get a medical Visa. He is in fact doing the business of medical tourism and has got hundreds of people