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VIDEO- 36

POLITY
(CITIZENSHIP)
 CITIZENSHIP

• The Citizenship is mentioned in Part II of the

Indian Constitution.

• The Citizenship provisions are covered under

articles 5 to 11 of the Indian Constitution

The Public (government) offices are open only to the

citizens
 Only the citizens are eligible for the offices of

The President - (Article 58(1)(a))

✓ The Vice President - (Article 66(3)(a))

✓ The Judge of the Supreme Court - (Article 124(3))

✓ The Judge of a High Court - (Article 217(2))

✓ The Attorney-General - (Article 76(2))

✓ The Governor of a State - (Article 157)

✓ The Advocate-General - (Article 165)

The right of suffrage (vote) for the election to the House of the people (Lok sabha) and the Legislative
assembly of every state - (Article 326)

Right to become a member of Parliament - Article (84)

Right to become a member of a state legislature – Article (191(d))

Only the citizens have the right to vote

 The concept of Citizenship came into existence since the adoption of the Constitution on November 26, 1949.

The Constitution of India laid down the law in regard to who would be the citizens of India at the time of
commencement of the Constitution.

The Constitution of India has not provided for the mode of acquisition and termination of citizenship.

As per Article 11 of the Indian Constitution the parliament could regulate the right of citizenship by law.

The Parliament passed the Citizenship Act, 1955 for acquisition and termination of the Citizenship.
 CITIZENSHIP
The Articles 5 to 11 of the Indian Constitution confers
Indian Constitution the parliament could
the citizenship on the people at the time of the regulate the right of citizenship by law.
commencement of the Indian Constitution. (26 Jan
1950)

Persons domiciled in India (Article 5) Citizenship Act 1955

A) Acquisition of the Citizenship (5 way)

Persons migrated from Pakistan (Article 6)
A) Termination of the Citizenship (3 way)

Persons migrated to Pakistan but later returned to India (Article 7)

Persons of Indian origin residing outside India (Article 8)

DOMICILE: Domicile is a person’s residence where he intends to live on a permanent basis & Intention to
reside indefinitely

Article 5:
This provides that a person becomes entitled to the citizenship of India if

domicile in the territory of India &

He was born in India

or

either of his parents was born in India

or

He has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not

less than 5 years immediately before the commencement of the
Constitution.
 Article 6
This provides for citizenship rights of migrants from Pakistan before the commencement of the Constitution.

This provides 2 types of distinctions.

The people migrating to India before July 19, 1948 The people migrating to India on or after July 19, 1948

Note: Permit system for migration was introduced on July 19, 1948.
 The people migrating to India before July 19, 1948 could be Indian Citizen

The person or his parents or his grandparents were born in undivided india

&

Has been ordinarily residing in India since the date of the migration.

The people migrating to India on or after July 19, 1948 could be Indian Citizen
The person or his parents or his grandparents were born in undivided india

&

He should have been registered as a citizen of India by an officer appointed for the purpose by the government of India
&

Has been residing in India for at least 6 months immediately preceding the date of application.
 Article 7:
Persons migrated to Pakistan but later returned to India (Article 7)

A person who migrated to Pakistan from India after March 1, 1947, but later returned to India for resettlement could
become a citizen of India.

The person or his parents or his grandparents were born in undivided india

&

He should have been registered as a citizen of India by an officer appointed for the purpose by the government of India
&

Has been residing in India for at least 6 months immediately preceding the date of application.

NOTE- The person migrating from Pakistan to India, after January 26, 1950 are governed by the Citizenship Act, 1955.
 Article 8:
Persons of Indian origin residing outside India (Article 8)

The person or his parents or his grandparents were born in undivided india & ordinarily residing outside India shall
become a citizen of India if registered as a citizen of India by the diplomatic representative of India in that country.
 Article 9:

This provides that if a person voluntarily acquired the citizenship of another country, he shall forfeit the
right of the citizenship of India.

The above clause is applicable to cases arising before the commencement of the Indian Constitution.

Such type of cases arising after the commencement of the Constitution shall be dealt by the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Article 10:
• This provides that every person who
is or is deemed to be a citizen of
India shall continue to be a citizen of
India. This is subject to the
provisions of any law made by the
parliament.
 Article 11
This article provides for the Parliament to enact legislations pertaining to the acquisition and termination of the
citizenship of India.

The Parliament passes Citizenship Act, 1955 providing for the acquisition and termination of the citizenship.

The citizenship can be acquired by 5 ways. The citizenship can be terminated in 3 methods.

v By Birth v Renunciation
v By Descent v Termination
v By Registration v Deprivation
v By Naturalization
v By incorporating a territory
 Citizenship Act 1955 speaks about the citizenship of India after the commencement of the
Constitution. It is an act to provide for the acquisition and termination of Indian citizenship.

The legislation related to this matter is the Citizenship Act 1955, which has been amended by the

Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1986,

the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1992,

the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2003,

the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2005, and

the Citizenship (Amendment Act, 2019).

 ACQUIRING THE CITIZENSHIP OF INDIA:

BY BIRTH
A person is the citizen of India by birth if

v He is born in India on or after January 26, 1950 but before June 30, 1987

He is born in India on or after July 1, 1987 but before 3rd December 2004 but at the time of the birth either of his
parents was a citizen of India.

Those born in India on or after 3 December 2004 are considered citizens of India only if both of their
parents are citizens of India or if one parent is a citizen of India and the other is not an illegal migrant at
the time of their birth.
BY DESCENT: the origin or background of a person in terms of family

A person born outside India was entitled to Indian citizenship if his father was an India citizen.
(26th jan 1950 – 10th dec 1992)

✓ NOTE: Not Mother

This was amended in the year 1992.

either of his parents was an Indian citizen. (10th dec 1992 – 3rd dec 2004)

From 3rd December 2004 onwards, person born outside India shall not be considered citizens
of India unless their birth is registered at an Indian consulate within one year with the
permission of the central government.
 BY REGISTRATION:

a person who is married to a citizen of India and is ordinarily resident in India for
seven years before making an application for registration

a person of India origin who is ordinarily in India for seven years before making
application for registration.

a person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in any country or place outside undivided Indian;
 BY NATURALIZATION:
He has an adequate knowledge of a language mentioned in the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution

The government can waive all above conditions if a person has rendered distinguished service to the science,
art, literature, world peace or human progress

That he is not a citizen or subject of a country where Indian citizens are prevented
from becoming citizens by naturalization;

that he renounces his citizenship of the other country;

that he is of good character;

 that during 14 years prior to these 12 months, he has either resided and/or been
in government services for not less than 11 years; (ADNAN SAMI)

Citizenship by incorporation of territory

If any new territory becomes a part of India, the Government of India, the Government of India
shall notify the persons of that territory to be citizens of India.
 HOW THE CITIZENSHIP IS LOST?

BY RENUNCIATION:

voluntary act by which a person after acquiring the

citizenship of another country gives up his Indian
citizenship.

BY TERMINATION:

When an India citizen voluntarily acquires the

citizenship of another country, he automatically
ceases to be an Indian citizen.
 BY DEPRIVATION:

The citizen has obtained the citizenship by fraud

Or
✓ The citizen has shown the disloyalty to the constitution of India
Or
✓ The citizen has unlawfully traded or communicated with the enemy during a war
Or
✓ The citizen has, within 5 years of registration or naturalization been imprisoned in any country for 2 years
Or
✓ The citizen has been ordinarily resident out of India for 7 years continuously.
 Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955.

An illegal migrant -

An illegal immigrant is a foreigner who either enters India illegally, i.e., without valid travel
documents, like a visa and passport, or enters India legally, but stays beyond the time period
permitted in their travel documents.

An illegal migrant can be prosecuted in India and deported or imprisoned.

The Bill amends the Act to provide that the Hindus, Sikhs,
Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan,
Bangladesh and Pakistan, who entered India on or before
December 31, 2014, will not be treated as illegal migrants.

Citizenship by naturalisation:

The Bill creates an exception for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists,

Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan,
Bangladesh and Pakistan, with regard to this
qualification. For these groups of persons, the 11 years’
requirement will be reduced to five years.
 Applicability of the Amended Act
These provisions on citizenship for illegal migrants will not apply to the tribal areas of Assam,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.

Further, it will not apply to the “Inner Line” areas

Currently, this permit system is applicable to Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland. Manipur
has also been brought under the Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime through a Gazette Notification on
the same day the bill was passed in the parliament.