S. 13]
CITIZENSHIP ACT, 1955
7
a Chairman (being a person who has for at least ten years held a judicial office) and two other members appointed by the Central Government in this behalf.
(6) The Committee of Inquiry shall, on such reference, hold the inquiry in such manner as may be prescribed and submit its report to the Central Government; and the Central Government shall ordinarily be guided by such report in making an order under this section.
Comment
There would be a full-fledged judicial enquiry under Sec. 9 before the Government could hold that an Indian citizen had voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign country, we must express our disagreement with the entire approach to this question. Section 10 is punitive in its nature [except as to Sec. 10 (2) (e)] and that is the ratio of the safeguards provided by it. Besides, Sec. 10 is practically a reproduction of Sec. 7 of the British Nationa- lity and Status of Aliens Act, 1914.1
Supplemental
11. Commonwealth citizenship.—Every person who is a citizen of a Commonwealth country specified in the First Schedule shal!, by virtue of that citizenship, have the status of a Commonwealth citizen in India.
12. Power to confer rights of Indian citizen on citizens of certain countries (1) The Central Government may, by order notified in the official Gazette, make provisions on a basis of reciprocity for the conferment of all or any of the rights of a citizen of India on the citizens of any country speci- fied in the First Schedule.
(2) Any order made under sub-section (1) shall have effect notwithstan- ding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any law other than the Constitution of India or this Act.
13. Certificate of citizenship in case of doubt.-The Central Government may, in such cases as it thinks fit, certify that a person, with respect to whose citizenship of India a doubt exists, is a citizen of India; and a certificate issued under this section shall, unless it is proved that it was obtained by means of fraud, faise representation or concealment of any material fact, be conclusive evidence that that person was such a citizen on the date thereof, but without prejudice to any evidence that he was such a citizen at an earlier date.
Comments
Citizenship-Proof of.-Where the appellants have not produced any document to prove that the appellants were born in India or any certificate from any school which would prove that they studied in India and no docu- ments were produced to show that the appellants were doing any work or living in India, it was held that the appellants had not established their case that they were Indian citizens."
Issue of certificate under the section.-Section 13 vests the Central Government with power to certify in case a doubt exists as to whether a particular person is a citizen of India that he is such a citizen. In the instant
1. T. E. Mahomed v. State of Madras,
A. I R. 1901 Mad. 129 at p. 137.
2. Abdul Rahman Haldar v. Union of
India, A. 1. R. 190 S. C. 1454 at p.
1454.