No Indian Citizenship Without Formal Renunciation Of Pakistani Citizenship, Mere Surrender Of Passport Insufficient: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has recently held that citizenship of India cannot be granted to a foreign national in the absence of a Renunciation Certificate, by mere surrender of passport issued by the country of origin, in this case Pakistan.

The court was hearing the Central government's appeal against a single judge's order permitting two Pakistani minors (respondents 2 and 3) to be granted Indian citizenship without insisting on a Renunciation Certificate.

Since Section 14A of the Pakistan Citizenship Act does not permit minors to renounce citizenship, they had surrendered their passports and certificates from the Pakistan High Commission stating that they have no objection if Indian citizenship is granted.

The Division Bench of Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Syam Kumar V.M. observed that mere surrender of passports would not amount to renunciation of citizenship and grant of Indian citizenship without the renunciation would amount to dual citizenship in India and Pakistan. It observed,

"The Citizenship Act of 1955 in India does not allow for dual citizenship. The laws do not make exceptions based on age (major or minor) or circumstance. For a person to be considered a citizen of India, they must be recognized as such by the Indian state alone, without any competing claims from another country's government. The formal renunciation process is the mechanism that ensures this legal clarity."

Finding that the minors cannot be granted Indian citizenship without proper compliance of Section 14A, the Division Bench further observed,

"Even though all necessary formalities might have been completed, as per Section 14A, a Renunciation Certificate is mandatory, and it cannot be waived of stating that the documents produced are sufficient to show that Respondent Nos.2 and 3 have renounced their Pakistani citizenship and, as such, they still continue to be citizens of Pakistan."

Thus, it allowed the writ appeal. It further clarified that its decision would not stand in the way of grant of citizenship if all requirements are met by the respondents.

Case No: WA No. 2172 of 2024

Case Title: Union of India v. Rasheeda Bano and Ors.

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 525

Counsel for the appellant: Mini Gopinath - Senior Panel Counsel

Counsel for the respondents: M. Sasindran, Sunil Kumar Kuriakose - GP

Click to Read/Download Judgment