S. Muralidhar, J.

1. By a letter dated 1st September 2009 the Regional Passport Officer, Delhi (`RPO') informed the Petitioner that a decision had been taken by the Ministry of External Affairs (`MEA') that a passport could not be issued in her favour under Section 6(2)(a) of the Passports Act, 1967 (`PA') as she could not be treated as an Indian national under Section 3(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (`CA'). The said decision has been challenged in this writ petition. The Petitioner further seeks a declaration that she is an Indian citizen.

2. The Petitioner was born on 13th April 1986 in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh and claims that she is an Indian citizen by birth. Admittedly, both her parents are Tibetan refugees, born in Tibet. A copy of her birth certificate is enclosed with the writ petition.

3. The Petitioner states that on 21st April 2005 pursuant to an application made by her, an Identity Certificate bearing No. 025942 was issued to her. Inter alia, the certificate stated as under:

"This certificate is issued for the sole purpose of providing the holder with identity papers in lieu of a national passport. It is without prejudice to and in no way affects the national status o