The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought to allow dual citizenship for Indians residing abroad. The bench, led by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, stated that the matter of granting dual citizenship falls outside the jurisdiction of the high court and squarely within the purview of Parliament.
During the proceedings, the court emphasized, “These are matters of national security with wide ramifications. This is not in our domain.” The bench further clarified, “It is for the Parliament and not for us. The court can’t take a decision on this.”
The petitioner, represented by ‘Pravasi Legal Cell’, argued that the current legal statutes do not support dual citizenship as Indian nationality is automatically relinquished upon the acquisition of a passport from another country. Despite this, the counsel pointed out that the issue remains a lively debate, as recently noted by the Centre.
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The petitioner advocated that granting dual citizenship would enable the Indian diaspora to make significant contributions. However, the court held that the existing legal framework does not support the arguments presented and hence refused to issue any directives on the matter.
