NT Reporter
Panaji
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has directed the authorities to process the passport application of a seven-year-old girl from Anjuna, holding that she is entitled to Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The petition was filed on behalf of the minor, Xami Dha Tirakita Kaye, through her parents Stefan Felix Kaye and Ritika Kaye, after authorities refused to grant her an Indian passport. The respondents included the Union of India, the Regional Passport Office, Panaji, the Chief Passport Officer, New Delhi, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office, Delhi, the Regional Passport Officer, Delhi, and the State of Goa.
A Division Bench comprising Justices Sarang V Kotwal and Ashish S Chavan observed that the petitioner satisfied the requirements of Section 3(1)(c)(i) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and was therefore entitled to Indian citizenship. The court clarified that its order was limited to the issue of the petitioner’s citizenship and passport and did not touch upon pending litigations involving her father.
The court noted that the petitioner’s father is a British national who entered India in 2006 on an employment visa, which was extended until 2009, and married the petitioner’s mother in New Delhi in December 2009. It also recorded that he was arrested in 2011 for overstaying and was later convicted under the Foreigners Act, 1946.
Quashing the orders of the passport authorities refusing passport services, the High Court directed that the petitioner’s application be processed in accordance with law.
It also permitted the filing of a fresh application, if required, and clarified that revocation of the petitioner’s earlier passport would not prejudice her future rights.
