The court reinforced that citizenship verification must be conducted by a competent authority as per the Citizenship Act, 1955, ensuring due process in nationality confirmation.

ORDER

This writ petition is filed seeking to direct the 2^nd respondent to forthwith return the petitioner's passport bearing No.M9172689 which has been wrongfully impounded on the ground of suspicion of nationality.

2.The petitioner is a citizen of India born on 18^th November 1991 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Her Indian citizenship is rooted in her Indian heritage as she is the daughter of Indian parents, namely, Karunanandan and Rajeshwary. Her father Late.Thiru.Karunanandan who was born on 23^rd March 1953 was an Indian citizen as evidenced by his Indian passport bearing No. T464115. However, the said Thiru.Karunanandan passed away on 7^th February 2012.

3.While being so, the petitioner's mother Tmt.Rajeshwary was diagnosed with a severe mental disorder and was undergoing treatment at Aram Care Foundation in Chennai and she also passed away on 30.05.2024 at Chennai. On the night of 20^th / 21^st December 2018, the petitioner's passport bearing No.M9172689 was seized by the Bureau of Immigration during her departure clearance for a flight to Doha at the Chennai Airport. At the time of seizure, no specific reason was provided and she was instructed to report to the 4^th respondent office within two working days as her passport had been forwarded for further investigation.

4.On 22nd December 2018, she visited the 4th respondent, that is, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office at Shastri Bhavan, Nungambakkam, Chennai, to enquire about the status of the petitioner's impounded passport. The officials advised her to contact the Tiruchirappalli Regional Passport Office where her passport was issued. Accordingly, she visited the Tiruchirappalli Regional Passport Office, that is, the 2^nd respondent and submitted all necessary documents as required by them. However, she received a show-cause notice dated 04.01.2019 from the 2^nd respondent, informing her that her passport has been impounded due to suspicion regarding her nationality.

5.The show-cause notice required her to appear before them and provide clarification along with all necessary documents for the investigation within 15 days. In response to the same, the petitioner made a formal visit to the 2^nd respondent's office and submitted all relevant documents, including her birth certificate, educational certificates, PAN card and proof of residence to establish her Indian nationality along with a representation requesting to release her passport which was impounded. Though in terms of their direction, the petitioner submitted all the documents of her father including his passport, PAN card, voter's card, ration card, legal heir certificate and death certificate, due to her mother's serious health condition, she was unable to provide any of her documents related to her nationality.

6.Despite explaining her mother's health condition and her own circumstances, the officials at the 2^nd respondent Office insisted that her case could not proceed without verifying her mother's nationality. She was later informed by the 2^nd respondent that they have sent a letter to the Q Branch Office in Chennai, that is, the 3^rd respondent, requesting verification of her parents nationality. However, due to no response from the 3^rd respondent until the end of 2019, the 2^nd respondent could not take any further action. Due to the pandemic situation in 2020, she had sent an E-mail to the 2^nd respondent's help desk team in March 2020 requesting an update on the status of her fil