THE CITIZENSHIP ACT, 1955
(No. 75 of 1955)
[30th December, 1955]
An Act to provide for the acquisition and termination of
Indian Citizenship
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:
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Comment
1
Heading of section. It is well settled that the heading of a section can- not control its plain languages.1
1. Short title.-This Act may be called the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Comment
Article 11 of the Constitution empowers the Parliament to make a law for the acquisition of citizenship, after the commencement of the Constitution, by birth, descent, registration, naturalization and incorpora- tion of territory.
2. Interpretation.-(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
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(a) "a Government in India" means the Central Government or a State Government;
(b) "citizen" in relation to a country specified in the First Schedule, means a person who, under the citizenship or nationality law for the time being in force in that country, is a citizen or national of that country;
a country
(c) "citizenship or nationality law", in relation to specified in the First Schedule, means an enactment of the Legis- lature of that country which, at the request of the Government of that country, the Central Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, have declared to be an enactment making provision for the citizenship or nationality of that country:
Provided that no such notification shall be issued in relation to the Union of South Africa except with the previous approval of both Houses of Parliament;
(d) "Indian Consulate" means the office of any Consular Officer of the Government of India where a register of births is kept, or where there is no such office, such office as may be prescribed;
Narbada Prasad v. State of Madhya Pradesh. A. I. R. 1981 M. P. 101 at
p. 111.
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