Passport –Indian citizen minor child of 16 years having custody with mother of a foreign national.
The petitioner – minor child of 16 years – was born on 27.10.2007 in Goa. The parents were Indian citizens at the time of their marriage which was duly registered in Goa. The father abandoned the mother and also the petitioner when she was three years old. By the judgment dated 3.1.2019, the Margao granted divorce on the petition of the wife.
The petitioner was given passport on 3.12.2014 valid upto 2.12.2019 and also issued Aadhar card.
On 10.2.2015, the birth of the petitioner’s mother was registered in Portugal and as per the existing law, the mother acquired Portuguese citizenship as also Passport. The mother has been issued OCI certificate.
The petitioner travelled on Indian passport to UK with her mother when she had taken employment. The petitioner was admitted in UK school and issued the residence card in 2017 valid upto 2022.
In 2019, the mother had applied for renewal of passport and same was rejected by the impugned letter dated 5.8.2020.
HELD that the ground that the petitioner is not eligible for Indian passport since she is single parent minor child, and the physical custody is with the parent who is a foreign national is not legal. The acquisition of a foreign nationality by the petitioner’s mother will not affect the Indian citizenship status of the petitioner. The child cannot be left “stateless”. Passport can be refused only on any of the grounds mentioned in section 6 of the Citizenship Act.
Judgment dated 28.8.2024 of the High Court of Bombay at Goa in W.P.No.135 of 2024 in Miss Chrisella Valanka Kushi Raj Naidu Vs. The Ministry of External Affairs and others
