Conferment by authority needed to get citizenship: Madras high court

Chennai: Holding that conferment by the competent authority is essential to become citizen of India, the Madras high court has dismissed petition of a student challenging detention of her Sri Lankan born mother, who remained in India for over three decades and possessed Aadhaar card, voter identity and driving license, by immigration authorities at Chennai international airport.

Dismissing a petition from Divya, daughter of Jayanthi, a Sri Lankan woman, detained in the Anna international airport, Chennai, on July 1, 2018, seeking to relieve her from the detention, Justice T. Raja said “although she has produced the Aadhaar card, driving licence, voter identity card and the marriage registration certificate of her mother with Premkumar, her mother has not made any application before the competent authority seeking conferment of her status as an Indian citizen. Above all, since Sri Lankan Government has admitted the status of the petitioner's mother as Sri Lankan and also issued the passport, inviting her to return to the country (Sri Lanka), the writ petition fails. Hence, the writ petition is dismissed.”

Jayanthi, a citizen of Sri Lanka by birth, due to the ethnic problem occurred in Sri Lanka, migrated to India in 1989 and since then, she has been residing in Tamil Nadu. She studied SSLC in Tamil Nadu 1991 and married to Premkumar, an Indian citizen in 1992. Out of wedlock three children were born. Her marriage was also registered here and she obtained Aadhaar card, driving licence, voter card and also registered their marriage here and obtained marriage certificate.

She applied for a passport in 2004 and due to family situation she went to Italy in 2007 as housemaid. After marriage she stayed in India for three decades. While so when she reached Chennai on June 22, 2018, from Italy to attend her daughter's marriage at Trichy, she was detained by authorities at Arignar Anna international airport finding that she had fraudulently obtained the Indian passport as she was a Sri Lankan national by birth.

The authorities found out that she was also holding a Sri Lankan passport, which was issued on October 12, 1989, and it expired on October 11, 1994. Holding that she wantonly suppressed the facts, authorities refused her entry into India and sent her back to Sri Lanka on June 23. However, the Sri Lankan authorities sent her back to India stating that she falsely claimed as Indian on the same day. Again, she was sent back to Sri Lanka by Indian authorities on the next day. However, the Sri Lankan immigration authority had not granted arrival clearance to Jayanthi and requested the Indian immigration to send her back to Sri Lanka on the strength of a valid emergency travel document issued by the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission.

Accordingly, the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission was informed to issue an emergency travel document to facilitate her return to Sri Lanka. Thereafter, on June 24, an order was issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer, Chennai, restricting her movement under the Foreigners Act, 1946.

Challenging the move, Jayanthi's daughter P. Divya, a student, has approached the high court seeking direction to the authorities to relieve her mother from detention and allow her to travel to Italy and join her employment.

Additional Solicitor General G. Rajagopalan submitted that as she is not an Indian citizen, she cannot be allowed to outside Anna international airport. Rejecting the plea of the petitioner, Justice T. Raja said that “a perusal of her original passport it was mentioned that her real name was Sayanthi Anandarajah. The Sri Lankan government issued the passport mentioning Sayanthi was born at Jaffna on December 7, 1973, and her national status as a Sri Lankan. 

Therefore, the claim of the petitioner that by virtue of Section 5(1)(c) of the Citizenship Act, the petitioner's mother has to be treated as an Indian, is far from acceptance.”