Latest news with #CitizenshipAct
The Hindu
20 hours ago
- General
- The Hindu
Dozens of Sri Lankan Tamils seek Indian citizenship
Dozens of Sri Lankan Tamils who were born in India and stayed in rehabilitation camps for over three decades have applied for citizenship. After verification of documents, their applications would be sent to the Union government for consideration, sources in the Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils said. A preliminary scrutiny of the applications revealed that about 300 Sri Lankan Tamils were entitled to citizenship under the provisions of the Citizenship Act. The applications started pouring in after the Commissionerate conducted a demographic assessment covering 57,500 residents of the rehabilitation camps and assured them of assistance in obtaining citizenship. A majority of the applicants were individuals born in India on or after July 1, 1987, but before December 3, 2004 and born in India on or after December 3, 2004, with at least one of the parents being an Indian citizen and neither an illegal migrant. There were also some applicants who were Tamils of Indian origin having Indo-Sri Lanka passport issued by Indian missions in Sri Lanka for repatriates under the 1964 and 1974 agreements, the sources said. 'The Sri Lankan nationals have lived in the camps for over 30 years now. The Tamil Nadu government is extending support to integrate them locally and make them self reliant. While explaining the benefits of acquiring citizenship, we are also assuring them of assistance in case they wanted to return to their home country. Nine people have got Indian citizenship in the last two years,' an official involved in the demographic assessment said. Registration of marriages The Commissionerate has also taken an initiative to register the marriages of Sri Lankan Tamils across the State and issue certificates. It has identified 898 couples, mostly in Ramanathapuram, Vellore, Tirunelveli and Salem regions, who were awaiting registration of their marriage. To implement this programme, the Department of Registration had organised a two-day special camp on July 25 and 26 for registering the marriages of Sri Lankan Tamils residing in rehabilitation camps across Tamil Nadu. Inspector-General of Registration Dinesh Oliver Ponraj said Revenue Department officials would be involved to verify the claims of the applicants. Sub-Registrars were told to register and issue marriage certificates on the same day. The certificates would help individuals in the process of getting passports for themselves, spouses and children, he said. M. Vallalar, Commissioner, Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils, said the marriage certificates would play an important role in establishing the status of applicants while seeking passport or citizenship. It would also reinforce the confidence of Sri Lankan Tamils that the State government was doing everything possible to make their lives better.
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Have the right to 'verify citizenship', EC tells SC on Bihar roll revision
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has informed the Supreme Court that it has the legal authority to seek proof of citizenship during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, Live Law reported. This comes in response to petitions alleging that the poll panel's is overstepping its powers by demanding citizenship documents from voters. EC cites constitutional and legal mandates In a counter-affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the Election Commission said its actions are backed by Article 326 of the Constitution, and Section 16 and Section 19 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (RP Act). These provisions, the poll panel said, require it to ensure that only Indian citizens are included in the electoral rolls. 'Verifying citizenship is Election Commission's duty' The Election Commission clarified that Section 19 of the RP Act makes citizenship a key eligibility condition for voter registration. It stressed that the poll panel must verify whether this condition is met by applicants, Live Law reported. 'Under the provision of the Constitution of India and statutory provisions, the ECI is obligated to verify the eligibility of the voters… and ensure any person who fails to fulfil the mandatory requirements is not included,' the affidavit said. Centre's role under citizenship act is limited: Election Commission Dismissing the argument that only the Central Government can decide citizenship matters, the Election Commission pointed to Section 9 of the Citizenship Act, 1955. It said that this provision only grants the Centre power in specific cases — such as when a citizen is suspected of acquiring foreign citizenship voluntarily. The affidavit added, 'It is only for this limited purpose that the exclusive jurisdiction has been vested in the Central government... Other aspects related to citizenship can be inquired into by other relevant authorities... including the ECI.' Election Commission clarifies its role in citizenship scrutiny The poll panel further said it is not adjudicating citizenship but only verifying voter eligibility for inclusion in the electoral rolls. It added that this is distinct from the citizenship determination process under the Citizenship Act. It also clarified that during the SIR, names are removed from the rolls only after a detailed inquiry, and when the Electoral Registration Officer is satisfied that the person does not meet the eligibility criteria, the news report said. Burden of proof lies with applicant: Election Commission The Election Commission rejected the allegation that it was unfairly shifting the burden of proof onto voters. It said applicants seeking inclusion must submit Form 6 under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and provide proof of eligibility at the time of application. The affidavit stated that the necessary documents are 'within the special knowledge of the individual claiming to be a citizen of India', making it their responsibility to produce such evidence. During the July 17 hearing, the Supreme Court had remarked that determination of citizenship falls under the Union Government's jurisdiction, not the ECI's. The Bench had also advised the Commission to consider documents like Aadhaar, Voter ID, and ration cards during the Bihar SIR. The matter is scheduled for its next hearing on July 28.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Aadhaar, voter ID & ration cards can't be considered for SIR: EC
File photo NEW DELHI: Disagreeing with Supreme Court 's prima facie view that Aadhaar card , voter ID card and ration card be considered valid documents for its SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, EC told the court that they cannot be relied upon — Aadhaar is just an identity proof; there are a large number of fake ration cards floating around in the country; and relying on existing voter cards would make the special drive futile. It, however, said citizenship of a person will not terminate on account of not being part of the electoral rolls. In a voluminous affidavit filed in SC late evening, the poll panel also said that there was no violation of any law and fundamental rights of voter in conducting the exercise and pleaded the court to dismiss the petition filed by 11 opposition parties, NGOs and some residents of Bihar for scrapping of SIR and holding the Nov assembly election on the previous electoral rolls which were revised in Dec. It said Section 9 of Citizenship Act has no application to SIR exercise. 'Under the SIR exercise, citizenship of an individual will not terminate on account of the fact that he/she is held to be ineligible for registration in the electoral rolls,' the affidavit said. Justifying its decision not to treat EPIC as proof of eligibility for inclusion in the electoral roll, EC said, 'The conceptual and procedural integrity of a de-novo revision would stand undermined if EPICS, which are merely reflective of prior entries, are used to validate entries in a roll that is required to be constructed anew. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Gold Is Surging in 2025 — Smart Traders Are Already In IC Markets Learn More Undo The EPIC, being a by-product of an earlier electoral roll, cannot substitute the verification process mandated for fresh preparation. ' EC said given the widespread existence of fake ration cards, it has not been prescribed within a list of 11 documents to be relied upon for screening eligibility. 'And it is submitted that Aadhaar is merely a proof of identity of a person.A person who seeks to claim a benefit can utilise an Aadhaar card to show he/she is who he/she claims to be... There are restrictions on usage of Aadhaar to check eligibility under Article 326,' it said.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Ex-NRC chief proposes 'family tree' verification for Assam voter roll cleanup
Former National Register of Citizens (NRC) Coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma has written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar suggesting that the procedure of verification adopted for NRC may also be tried for creating a "flawless" electoral roll for Assam. Assam is going to assembly polls early next year. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Data Science healthcare Data Analytics CXO Project Management Management Product Management Data Science Public Policy Others Artificial Intelligence Finance Technology Cybersecurity Leadership MBA Design Thinking PGDM Degree others Healthcare Operations Management Digital Marketing Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Prof Cert in DS & BA with GenAI India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIT Madras CERT-IITM Advanced Cert Prog in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIT Madras CERT-IITM Advanced Cert Prog in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 30 Weeks IIM Kozhikode SEPO - IIMK-AI for Senior Executives India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK DABS India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Postgraduate Cert in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Sarma, who is a retired IAS officer, in his letter has said, "From my experience of updating of NRC, I feel, the procedure of verification adopted in NRC may also be tried for creating a flawless electoral roll for Assam. It may be mentioned that the family trees of almost all the persons of Assam are available with the NRC authority and the ECI may get hold of it with the permission of the Supreme Court of India." Thanking the ECI for taking up the intensive revision of the electoral roll in Assam following "large scale detection of foreigners' names" in the voter list of Bihar, Sarma wrote, "The situation of Assam is graver than Bihar or any other state of India so far as the electoral roll is concerned." Talking about the unique case of Assam regarding citizenship, the former NRC co-ordinator said, "Unlike the other states, the cut-off date for citizenship in Assam is March 25, 1971, as the East Pakistani nationals entering Assam till 1971 were granted citizenship under 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (amended) and infiltration from Bangladesh is continuing till date." He added, to remedy this, the "Family Tree Matching" was introduced. "In the 'Family Tree Matching' process, all the offspring of a 'Legacy Person' from whom lineage is claimed were asked to submit their family details, which were then compared and matched through a software with the other family trees submitted by descendants of the same legacy person. The mechanism was designed to be such that the 'Family Tree' of the genuine offspring matches with each other. And the 'Family Tree' of the imposters, who attempt to assume descendance through pre-1971 legacy documents as their ancestors, does not match with that of the genuine offspring," Sarma wrote.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
PIOs are only those born in India before August 15, 1947, not after: Delhi High Court clarifies on MHA's appeal
The Delhi High Court on Monday held that an individual will be considered as a 'person of Indian origin' if they or either of their parents was born in India before August 15, 1947, and not those born in India on or after the cut-off date, unless they were born in a territory which became part of India after August 15, 1947. The ruling came on an appeal by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that had challenged a single judge's order on its interpretation of 'person of Indian origin'. Setting aside the earlier observation, the division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that the single judge's finding is based on 'misreading of the provisions' of the Citizenship Act. In May last year, a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court of Justice Prathiba Singh had directed the Centre to grant Indian citizenship to a 'stateless' 17-year-old girl – Rachita Francis Xavier – who was born in India to an Indian-origin US citizen couple. At the time of the girl's birth, the couple were residing in India and were Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders. Justice Singh had held that she would not qualify as an 'illegal migrant' and would be considered as a 'person of Indian origin' as her mother was born in independent India, in Andhra Pradesh in July 1958. The division bench, relying on a Supreme Court verdict, however clarified that as per the Citizenship Act, a person is to be considered of 'Indian origin' if they or either of their parents was born in India before August 15, 1947, or in a territory which became part of India after August 15, 1947 (for example Goa, Sikkim). It held that a person born in India on or after August 15, 1947, will not qualify as a 'person of Indian origin'. Under the Citizenship Act, 1955, 'persons of Indian origin' can be granted Indian citizenship subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions. While the MHA had in July 2024 granted Indian citizenship to the girl, Rachita Francis Xavier, it however, moved an appeal in December 2024, challenging the single judge's 'views' on 'illegal migrant' and 'person of Indian-origin', arguing that the interpretations 'may open floodgates for many other illegal migrants in seeking Indian citizenship' and 'would have a cascading effect and would dilute the spirit of the Citizenship Act, 1955.' The ministry was not challenging the grant of citizenship to the girl but only the view that the single judge had taken on the question of 'illegal migrant' and 'PIO'. The division bench — acceding to the MHA's appeal and setting aside the interpretation by the single judge of 'person of Indian origin' – recorded in its order, '…in our opinion,…any person shall be deemed to be a person of 'Indian Origin' if the person or either of his parents were born in undivided India… It would thus mean that to acquire the status of a person of 'Indian Origin', the person concerned or either of his parents would have been born in India before 15.08.1947 and not thereafter.' 'A person who was born in a territory which became part of India after 15.08.1947, will also be deemed to be a person of 'Indian Origin'…(It) would not cover a person to be deemed to be of 'Indian Origin' if he or either of his parents was born in India on or after 15.08.1947 or in a territory which did not become part of India after 15.08.1947,' it added. Voicing its 'unambiguous opinion' that Justice Singh's observation in the case that the girl qualifies to be a 'person of 'Indian Origin' is erroneous', the bench set it aside. The single judge had reasoned that the girl was born in India and had never gone out of India, which the MHA countered in its appeal, saying that section 2(1)(b) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 clearly defines 'illegal migrant' which would include a child born in India and devoid of any valid travel documents. The single judge had relied on the fact that the term 'migrant' envisages movement from one country to another, of a foreigner.
