Describe various provision relating to acquisition and termination of

citizenship under the constitution and Indian Citizenship Act, 1955

OR
Discuss the provision of acquiring and termination of citizenship under “The
Indian Citizenship Act, 1955”
OR
Explain the term “citizenship”. Discuss the provisions of Parliamentary
Legislation in respect of Acquisition and Termination of Citizenship.
OR
Describe the meaning, purpose and status of citizenship and the provision
aimed the Citizenship act, 1955 to acquire it.
A. INTRODUCTION:
Like any other modern state, India has two kinds of people:
citizens and aliens. Citizens are full members of the Indian State and owe
allegiance to it. They enjoy all civil and political rights. Aliens, on the other hand,
are the citizens of some other state and hence, do not enjoy all the civil and
political rights. They are of two categories—friendly aliens or enemy aliens.
Friendly aliens are the subjects of those countries that have
cordial relations with India. Enemy aliens, on the other hand, are the subjects of
that country that is at war with India. They enjoy lesser rights than the friendly
aliens, E.g.: they do not enjoy protection against arrest and detention (Article 22).
The Constitution confers the following rights and privileges
on the citizens of India (and denies the same to aliens):
1. Right against discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or
place of birth (Article 15).
2. Right to equality of opportunity in the matter of public employment
(Article 16).
3. Right to freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association,
movement, residence and profession (Article 19).
4. Cultural and educational rights (Articles 29 and 30).
5. Right to vote in elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislative
assembly.
6. Right to contest for the membership of the Parliament and the state
legislature.
 7. Eligibility to hold certain public offices, that is, President of India, Vice
President of India, judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts,
governor of states, attorney general of India and advocate general of
states.
Along with the above rights, the citizens also owe certain
duties towards the Indian State, as for example, paying taxes, respecting the
national flag and national anthem, defending the country and so on.
In India both a citizen by birth as well as a naturalised citizen
are eligible for the office of President while in USA, only a citizen by birth and
not a naturalised citizen is eligible for the office of President.
B. CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
The Constitution deals with the citizenship from Articles 5 to
11 under Part II. However, it contains neither any permanent nor any elaborate
provisions in this regard. It only identifies the persons who became citizens of
India at its commencement (i.e., on January 26, 1950). It does not deal with the
problem of acquisition or loss of citizenship subsequent to its commencement. It
empowers the Parliament to enact a law to provide for such matters and any other
matter relating to citizenship.
According to the Constitution, the following four categories of
persons became the citizens of India at its commencement i.e., on 26 January,
1950:
a) Persons domiciled in India:
A person who had his domicile in India and also fulfilled any one of
the three conditions, viz., if he was born in India; or if either of his
parents was born in India; or if he has been ordinarily resident in
India for five years immediately before the commencement of the
Constitution, became a citizen of India (Article 5).
b) Persons migrated from Pakistan;
A person who migrated to India from Pakistan became an Indian
citizen if he or either of his parents or any of his grandparents was
born in undivided India and also fulfilled any one of the two
conditions viz., in case he migrated to India before July 19, 1948, he
had been ordinarily resident in India since the date of his migration;
or in case he migrated to India on or after July 19, 1948, he had been
registered as a citizen of India. But, a person could be so registered
 only if he had been resident in India for six months preceding the
date of his application for registration (Article 6).
c) Persons migrated to Pakistan but later returned;
A person who migrated to Pakistan from India after March 1, 1947,
but later returned to India for resettlement could become an Indian
citizen. For this, he had to be resident in India for six months
preceding the date of his application for registration (Article 7).
d) Persons of Indian origin residing outside India.
A person who, or any of whose parents or grandparents, was born in
undivided India but who is ordinarily residing outside India shall
become an Indian citizen if he has been registered as a citizen of
India by the diplomatic or consular representative of India in the
country of his residence, whether before or after the commencement
of the Constitution. Thus, this provision covers the overseas Indians
who may want to acquire Indian citizenship (Article 8).
The other constitutional provisions with respect to the citizenship are as follows:
1. No person shall be a citizen of India or be deemed to be a citizen of
India, if he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any foreign state
(Article 9).
2. Every person who is or is deemed to be a citizen of India shall continue
to be such citizen, subject to the provisions of any law made by
Parliament (Article 10).
3. Parliament shall have the power to make any provision with respect to
the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters
relating to citizenship (Article 11).
C. CITIZENSHIP ACT, 1955:
The Citizenship Act (1955) provides for acquisition and loss
of citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution. This Act has been
amended so far eight times by the following Acts:
1. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1957
2. The Repealing and Amending Act, 1960
3. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1985
4. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1986
5. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1992
6. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003
7. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2005
 8. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2015
Originally, the Citizenship Act (1955) also provided for the
Commonwealth Citizenship. But, this provision was repealed by the Citizenship
(Amendment) Act, 2003.
D. ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP
The Citizenship Act of 1955 prescribes five ways of acquiring
citizenship, viz, birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of
territory:
1. By Birth:
A person born in India on or after 26th January 1950 but
before 1st July 1987 is a citizen of India by birth irrespective of the nationality of
his parents.
A person born in India on or after 1st July 1987 is considered
as a citizen of India only if either of his parents is a citizen of India at the time of
his birth. Further, those born in India on or after 3rd December 2004 are
considered citizens of India only if both of their parents are citizens of India or
one of whose parents is a citizen of India and the other is not an illegal migrant at
the time of their birth.
The children of foreign diplomats posted in India and enemy
aliens cannot acquire Indian citizenship by birth.
2. By Descent:
A person born outside India on or after 26th January 1950 but
before 10th December 1992 is a citizen of India by descent, if his father was a
citizen of India at the time of his birth. A person born outside India on or after
10th December 1992 is considered as a citizen of India if either of his parents is
a citizen of India at the time of his birth.
From 3rd December 2004 onwards, a person born outside
India shall not be a citizen of India by descent, unless his birth is registered at an
Indian consulate within one year of the date of birth or with the permission of the
Central Government, after the expiry of the said period. An application, for
registration of the birth of a minor child, to an Indian consulate shall be
accompanied by an undertaking in writing from the parents of such minor child
that he or she does not hold the passport of another country.
Further, a minor who is a citizen of India by virtue of descent
and is also a citizen of any other country shall cease to be a citizen of India if he
does not renounce the citizenship or nationality of another country within six
months of his attaining full age.
3. By Registration:
The Central Government may, on an application, register as a
citizen of India any person (not being an illegal migrant) if he belongs to any of
the following categories, namely:
a) a person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in India for seven
years before making an application for registration;
b) a person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in any country or
place outside undivided India;
c) 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;
d) minor children of persons who are citizens of India;
e) a person of full age and capacity whose parents are registered as citizens
of India;
f) a person of full age and capacity who, or either of his parents, was
earlier citizen of independent India, and is ordinarily resident in India
for twelve months immediately before making an application for
registration;
g) a person of full age and capacity who has been registered as an overseas
citizen of India cardholder for five years, and who is ordinarily resident
in India for twelve months before making an application for
registration.
A person shall be deemed to be of Indian origin if he, or either
of his parents, was born in undivided India or in such other territory which
became part of India after the 15th August, 1947.
4. By Naturalisation:
The Central Government may, on an application, grant a
certificate of naturalisation to any person (not being an illegal migrant) if he
possesses the following qualifications:
a) that he is not a subject or citizen of any country where citizens of India
are prevented from becoming subjects or citizens of that country by
naturalisation;
b) that, if he is a citizen of any country, he undertakes to renounce the
citizenship of that country in the event of his application for Indian
citizenship being accepted;
 c) that he has either resided in India or been in the service of a Government
in India or partly the one and partly the other, throughout the period of
twelve months immediately preceding the date of the application;
d) that during the fourteen years immediately preceding the said period of
twelve months, he has either resided in India or been in the service of a
Government in India, or partly the one and partly the other, for periods
amounting in the aggregate to not less than eleven years;
e) that he is of good character;
f) that he has an adequate knowledge of a language specified in the Eighth
Schedule to the Constitution, and
g) that in the event of a certificate of naturalisation being granted to him,
he intends to reside in India, or to enter into or continue in, service under
a Government in India or under an international organisation of which
India is a member or under a society, company or body of persons
established in India.
However, the Government of India may waive all or any of
the above conditions for naturalisation in the case of a person who has rendered
distinguished service to the science, philosophy, art, literature, world peace or
human progress. Every naturalised citizen must take an oath of allegiance to the
Constitution of India.
5. By Incorporation of Territory:
If any foreign territory becomes a part of India, the
Government of India specifies the persons who among the people of the territory
shall be the citizens of India. Such persons become the citizens of India from the
notified date. For example, when Pondicherry became a part of India, the
Government of India issued the Citizenship (Pondicherry) Order, 1962, under the
Citizenship Act, 1955.
6. Special Provisions as to Citizenship of Persons Covered by the Assam
Accord:
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1985, added the following
special provisions as to citizenship of persons covered by the Assam Accord
(which related to the foreigners’ issue):
(a) All persons of Indian origin who came to Assam before the 1st January,
1966 from Bangladesh and who have been ordinarily residents in
Assam since the date of their entry into Assam shall be deemed to be
citizens of India as from the 1st January, 1966.
 (b) Every person of Indian origin who came to Assam on or after the 1 st
January, 1966 but before the 25th March, 1971 from Bangladesh and
who has been ordinarily resident in Assam since the date of his entry
into Assam and who has been detected to be a foreigner shall register
himself. Such a registered person shall be deemed to be a citizen of
India for all purposes as from the date of expiry of a period of ten years
from the date of detection as a foreigner. But, in the intervening period
of ten years, he shall have the same rights and obligations as a citizen
of India, excepting the right to vote.
E. LOSS OF CITIZENSHIP
The Citizenship Act, 1955, prescribes three ways of losing
citizenship whether acquired under the Act or prior to it under the Constitution,
viz, renunciation, termination and deprivation:
1. By Renunciation:
Any citizen of India of full age and capacity can make a
declaration renouncing his Indian citizenship. Upon the registration of that
declaration, that person ceases to be a citizen of India. However, if such a
declaration is made during a war in which India is engaged, its registration shall
be withheld by the Central Government.
Further, when a person renounces his Indian citizenship,
every minor child of that person also loses Indian citizenship. However, when
such a child attains the age of eighteen, he may resume Indian citizenship.
2. By Termination:
When an Indian citizen voluntarily (consciously, knowingly
and without duress, undue influence or compulsion) acquires the citizenship of
another country, his Indian citizenship automatically terminates. This provision,
however, does not apply during a war in which India is engaged.
3. By Deprivation:
It is a compulsory termination of Indian citizenship by the
Central government, if:
(a) the citizen has obtained the citizenship by fraud:
(b) the citizen has shown disloyalty to the Constitution of India:
(c) the citizen has unlawfully traded or communicated with the enemy
during a war;
(d) the citizen has, within five years after registration or naturalisation,
been imprisoned in any country for two years; and
 (e) the citizen has been ordinarily resident out of India for seven years
continuously.
F. Conclusion:

A. INTRODUCTION:
B. CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
1) Persons domiciled in India:
2) Persons migrated from Pakistan;
3) Persons migrated to Pakistan but later returned;
4) Persons of Indian origin residing outside India.
C. CITIZENSHIP ACT, 1955:
D. ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP
1. By Birth:
2. By Descent:
3. By Registration:
4. By Naturalisation:
5. By Incorporation of Territory:
6. Special Provisions as to Citizenship of Persons Covered by the Assam
Accord:
E. LOSS OF CITIZENSHIP
1. By Renunciation:
2. By Termination:
3. By Deprivation: