Adverse Police Report Calling Applicant 'Foreigner' Can't Override Statutory Citizenship By Birth, Passport Must Be Issued: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court recently observed that an adverse police report could not override the statutory right conferred under the Citizenship Act, when a person's citizenship by birth is proved by way of genuine documents. Justice PT Asha thus came to the rescue of a man, born to Sri Lankan parents, whose passport application was rejected by the authorities. The court noted that the man was born in 1986, prior to the cutoff date provided under the Act. Thus, the court held that the man was a citizen of the country by birth. “Therefore, since the petitioner was born on 09.02.1986, i.e., prior to the cut-off date, he is an Indian citizen by birth. Once citizenship by birth is established and the genuineness of the documents is verified, the adverse police report referring to his parents' nationality cannot override the statutory right conferred by Section 3(1)(a). Accordingly, the petitioner is entitled to be issued a passport,” the court said. The court was hearing a petition by Gokuleswaran seeking direction to the Regional Passport Officer to issue a passport by processing his application. Gokuleswaran was born on February 9, 1986, at Tiruchirappalli to Sri Lankan parents who had come to India along with other refugees and were accommodated in the Sri Lankan Tamils Rehabilitation Camp at Tiruchirappalli. Gokuleswaran submitted that he was an Indian citizen by birth as per Section 3 of the Citizenship Act 1955, and hence, had applied for a passport. However, his application was rejected since an adverse police report was received from the Commissioner of Police, Tiruchirappalli, with a remark “Suspect in Sri Lankan”. The authorities submitted that the petitioner had not furnished sufficient documents to prove his Indian citizenship by birth. It was submitted that his application was rejected since his parents were of Sri Lankan nationality, and thus he was ineligible for Indian passport. The court noted that the petitioner's birth certificate had been verified and its genuineness was confirmed. The court also noted that petitioner's date of birth had been verified in his SSLC and HSC mark sheets also. The court noted that as per Section 3(1) (a) of the Citizenship Act 1955, any person born in India on or after 25th January 1950 but before 1st July 1987 was a citizen of India by birth, irrespective of the nationality of his/her parents. In the present case, since the petitioner was born before the cut-off date, the court observed that an adverse police report could not come in the way of the petitioner's statutory right. Thus, the court directed the Regional Passport Officer to process the petitioner's application and issue a passport to him within a period of 8 weeks. Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. I. Romeo Roy Alfred Counsel for Respondent: Mr. K. Govindarajan Dy. Solicitor General of India, Mr. S. Prakash Govt. Advocate (Crl. Side) Case Title: Gokuleswaran v. The Regional Passport Officer and Others Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Mad) 444 Case No: Writ Petition(MD) No.23811 of 2025Click Here To Read/Download The Judgment

Adverse Police Report Calling Applicant 'Foreigner' Can't Override Statutory Citizenship By Birth, Passport Must Be Issued: Madras High Court

Upasana Sajeev

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