The petitioner, who was born in Uganda to Indian-origin British parents, claimed that she has been living in India since 1966.
A 66-year-old lady of Indian heritage residing in India, who is now stateless, has petitioned the Bombay High Court to review the decision of the Deputy Collector of Mumbai Suburban District to deny her application for Indian citizenship.
The petitioner’s attorneys, Aditya Chitale and Prathamesh Bhosale, informed the court that the petitioner was born in Uganda to parents of Indian descent who possessed British passports.
She had lived in India since 1966, when she moved there with her mother.
On her online application, she incorrectly stated that her visa was valid until 2019.
Due to this, she was deemed ineligible for citizenship; she is currently contesting this decision before the High Court.
The court was advised by Union government attorney Advait Sethna, representing the Ministry of External Affairs, that the woman may be awarded citizenship provided she provides a foreign passport.
He informed the Court that the petitioner had contacted the British embassy (since her parents held British passports), but that the embassy had refused to award her a passport because she lacked the required documentation.
He told the Court that she was compelled to pursue this procedure and that the Central government did not view the petition as adversarial.
Sethna further indicated that the petitioner might obtain the necessary paperwork from the Ugandan embassy.
Bench of Justices SV Gangapurwala and SM Modak delayed the petition and instructed the Central government to file its answer in response to Chitale’s request for time to seek directions.
The petitioner noted in her petition filed through MNSQ Legal that she had sought for citizenship in order to get an Indian passport.
She claimed to have applied for a passport three times, and while doing so, she attempted to submit her parents’ British passports.
The petitioner stated she did not have the requested documentation because she arrived in India as a minor with her mother.
The Regional Passport Office recommended the petitioner to apply for citizenship in order to get a passport upon her third passport application.
Consequently, the petitioner submitted an online application for citizenship, which was ultimately denied, forcing her to file an appeal with the High Court.
The hearing on the petition will now occur on August 24, 2022.
