Minor Can't Lose Citizenship Because Father Took UK Citizenship: Madras High Court Orders Passport Renewal
The Madras High Court has directed the Regional Passport Officer to process a minor's passport renewal application, holding that a child cannot be stripped of Indian citizenship simply because his father later acquired United Kingdom citizenship.
A single bench of Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy was hearing a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution. The petitioner sought a Writ of Mandamus directing the Regional Passport Officer to process the renewal application and renew the minor boy's passport without insisting that the application be routed through the child's mother. Advocate S. Anusha appeared for the petitioner, while Central Government Standing Counsel G. Ramanathan represented the respondent.
The petition was filed by the minor's father. The child was born on January 23, 2016, at Rainbow Hospital, Swaranapuri, Salem. A passport was issued to him in 2021 from London, with an expiry date of October 4, 2026. After applying for renewal, the father moved the court.
The respondent filed a counter-affidavit arguing that under sub-section (2) of Section 8 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, the minor's citizenship ended when his father ceased to be an Indian citizen under sub-section (1).
The bench noted that the father said he became a UK citizen on May 7, 2021, which was after the child's birth in 2016, and that Section 9, not Section 8, applied to his case. The mother, the court was told, was an Indian citizen at the time of the child's birth and has remained one.
Justice Ramamoorthy observed that the minor became an Indian citizen by birth because both his parents were Indian citizens at the relevant time. "In the absence of statutory sanction, the minor cannot be stripped of citizenship merely because his father acquired the citizenship of the United Kingdom in 2021," the court said.
Finding no obstacle under the Citizenship Act to processing the renewal application, the bench disposed of the petition and directed the respondent to consider and decide the passport renewal application within three months from the date of receipt of a copy of the order.
The case is titled Aarush Shanmugam Gurudev v. The Regional Passport Officer (WP(MD) No. 25412 of 2026).
Source: Verdictum