Goa High Court
V.S.JETLEY
Rev. Mons. Sebastlao Francisco Xavier dos Remedios Monteiro of Candolim - Appellant
Versus
State - Respondent
Decided On : 08/07/1967
FOREIGNERS ACT - SECTION 3(2)(C) - ORDER BY LT. GOVERNOR UNDER - CONVICTION FOR CONTRAVENTION OF - PETITIONER, A PORTUGUESE NATIONAL, CLAIMING TO BE A PROTECTED PERSON UNDER GENEVA CONVENTION, 1949 - HELD, CONVENTION CEASED TO APPLY AFTER ANNEXATION OF TERRITORIES - PETITIONER NOT A PROTECTED PERSON - ORDER OF EXPULSION VALID.
Fact of the Case:
Petitioner, a Portuguese national and priest, was convicted for contravening an order made by the Lt. Governor under Section 3(2)(c) of the Foreigners Act, 1946. He claimed to be a protected person under the Geneva Convention, 1949, and that the order of expulsion was ultra vires the Convention and international law.
Finding of the Court:
The Court held that the Geneva Convention ceased to apply after the annexation of the territories and that the petitioner was not a protected person. The order of expulsion was held to be valid.
Issues: 1. Whether the Geneva Convention, 1949, applied to the petitioner after the annexation of the territories? 2. Whether the order of expulsion was ultra vires the Convention and international law?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The Geneva Convention applies to all cases of declared war or any other armed conflict between two or more High Contracting Parties, and to all cases of partial or total occupation of the territory of a High Contracting Party, even if the said occupation meets with no armed resistance. However, the Convention ceases to apply one year after the general close of military operations in the case of occupied territory. 2. In the present case, the territories were annexed by India on 27th March 1962, and the military operations ceased before that date. Therefore, the Convention ceased to apply after the annexation and the petitioner was not a protected person. 3. The order of expulsion was not ultra vires the Convention or international law, as every sovereign State has the power to expel aliens from its territories.
Final Decision: The petition was rejected.
2. It is necessary to set out the relevant laws and facts before the merits of the petition are considered. The petitioner is a priest. He was a Portuguese citizen and a national before the territories of Goa, Daman and Diu were conquered by India on 20th December, 1961, (hereinafter referred to as 'the territories'). The Goa, Daman and Diu (Administration) Ordinance, 1962, was promulgated by the President of the Union of India and, as will appear from its preamble, the territories were considered as having been acquired with effect from 20th December 1961 (hereinafter referred to as 'the appointed day'). They were considered also, by virtue of Article 1 (3) (c) of the Constitution, as having been comprised within the territory of India. This Ordinance was replaced by the Goa, Daman and Diu (Administration) Act, 1952 (No. 1 of 1962). This Act was enacted by Parliament on 27th March 1962. It came into force with effect from 5th March 1962. The Constitution (Twelfth Amendment) Act, 1962 was also enacted by Parliament on the same day. The territories became constitutionally part of India by virtue of this Amendment which was brought into force with back effect from the appointed day. This Amendment followed the physical annexation of the territories belonging to India which had passed into Portuguese hands long long ago.
The Citizenship Act, 1955, was extended to the territories on 17th March 1962 and came into force the same day. This extension was under Section 5 of the Goa, Daman and Diu (Administration) Ordinance 1962 (No. 2 of 1962). The Goa, Daman and Diu (Citizenship) Order, 1962, was notified in the Government Gazette on 28th March 1962. This order was made in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 7 of the Citizenship Act. Para 2 of this order provided that every person who or either of whose parents or any of whose grand-parents was born before the appointed day in the territories shall be deemed to have become a citizen of India on that day, except where any such person made a declaration in writing that he wished to retain the citizenship or nationality which he had immediately before the appointed day. A month's time was given for mental adjustment. The petitioner made a declaration on 27th April 1962. In that declaration he solemnly declared that he wished to retain the Portuguese citizenship/Portuguese nationality which he had immediately before the appointed day and that he made this declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true. The Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, were extended to the territories on 22nd November, 1962, in exercise of the power conferred by Section 3 Clause 2 of the Goa, Daman and Diu (Laws) Regulation 1962 (No. 12 of 1962). They were brought into force on 19th December 1962.
On 22nd March, 1963, in pursuance of Clause (1) of Article 239 of the Constitution, notification was issued by the President enabling the Lt. Governor to discharge the functions of the Central Government under Rule 3 of the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1939. This notification also enabled the Lt. Governor to make orders of the nature specified in Section 3(2)(c) an
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