Citizenship Act 1955

The Citizenship Act of 1955 authorises individuals from the nation to be recognized as Indian citizens. It succinctly outlines the requirements for attaining Indian citizenship. The connection between a country and its people is referred to as citizenship. It is the quality that an individual must possess to be recognized as a citizen of a country. A citizen's dedication to a country's duties is secured through their status as a member. A nation ensures the prosperity of its citizens by providing them with the rights they are due, along with essential social, political, and civil liberties. A specific law that oversees and regulates an individual's rights as a citizen is the Citizenship Act.

CLAT 2025: 10 Free Mock Tests | Legal Maxims | Landmark Judgements | PYQs

CUET BA LLB 2025:  Legal Studies ebook | 5 Free Mock Tests

MH CET LAW 2025: 10 Free Mock Tests | Legal Reasoning Practice Questions

Monthly Legal Current Affairs:  August’24 | July’24 | June’24

This Story also Contains

1. What is the Citizenship Act of 1955
2. How does this Citizenship Act come into Being?
3. Acquisition of Citizenship
4. Termination of Citizenship
5. Citizenship and Constitution
6. Articles Relating to Citizenship in the Indian Constitution
7. Citizenship Amendment
8. Case Law
9. Conclusion

What is the Citizenship Act of 1955

The law upholds the privileges and duties of individuals by implementing the Citizenship Act. The Citizenship Act of 1955 is also referred to as the Indian nationality law. This guarantees that the people living in the country are officially Indian citizens. The Indian Citizenship Act of 1955, along with the Indian Constitution, clearly define who is considered a citizen. The Act received approval from the Indian Parliament and took effect on December 30, 1955.

How does this Citizenship Act come into Being?

• The rights of citizens in India were not established until the nation became independent. The Act on British Citizenship and Foreign Benefits of 1914, which was revoked in 1948, offered specific benefits before independence but none while the British were in power.

• According to the British Nationality Act, Indians are categorized as British nationals who do not hold citizenship at the moment.

• After India's 1947 partition, a large number of individuals relocated across the newly established borders that now separate Pakistan and India.

• Individuals had the liberty to reside in any place they desired and obtain citizenship there.

• In response to the urgent requirement to determine the status of these migrants, the Constituent Assembly limited the application of the Constitution's provisions on citizenship.

• After that, in 1955, the legislative body enacted the Citizenship Act, which outlined comprehensive regulations regarding who could become a citizen and what the requirements were.

Acquisition of Citizenship

The Indian Citizenship Act of 1955 outlines the methods through which an individual can acquire Indian citizenship, including:

People living in India on November 26, 1949, were instantly made Indian citizens when the Constitution was created. Individuals born in India on or after January 26, 1950, but before July 1, 1987, are recognized as Indian nationals.

An individual born on or after July 1, 1987, is considered an Indian citizen if at least one of their parents was an Indian citizen when the birth occurred. If one parent is a citizen of India and the other is not an undocumented immigrant when the child is born, then the child is recognized as an Indian citizen if they are born after December 3, 2004. However, children of non-hostile aliens and diplomats from other countries are not able to acquire citizenship through birth.

Termination of Citizenship

The Indian Citizenship Act of 1955 declares that a person's status as an Indian citizen can be revoked under specific conditions. The law outlines three potential ways to dissolve citizenship:

1. Renunciation: An Indian national who holds citizenship in another country will forfeit his Indian citizenship upon making a formal declaration to renounce it properly. Every male individual's minor offspring also forfeits their Indian citizenship upon their own citizenship acquisition. However, if the child decides to reclaim his Indian citizenship, he can become a citizen of India within a year once he turns adult.

2. Termination: If an individual from India knowingly or voluntarily becomes a citizen of a foreign country, their Indian citizenship could be taken back.

3. Deprivation: The Indian government possesses the power to revoke someone's citizenship in certain circumstances. Nonetheless, this rule does not extend to all individuals. This part of the law is only relevant to those who gain citizenship through naturalization, registration, or Article 5 section (c), which grants citizenship to individuals who have resided in India for a minimum of five years prior to the enactment of the Constitution.

Citizenship and Constitution

• The sections in Part II of the Indian Constitution outline the rights and roles of Indian citizens when the Constitution was put into effect.

• The Indian Constitution deals with the concept of citizenship in Articles 5 to 11. Part II was implemented on November 26, 1949, the day the Constitution was ratified.

• Because citizenship falls under the Union List and is specified in the 7th schedule, the Indian Parliament holds responsibility for the matter.

• The legislation concerning citizenship is known as the Citizenship Act of 1955. This was further modified by the Citizenship (Amendment) Acts of 1986, 1992, 2003, and 2005. Following this, in 1955, the legislative body enacted the Citizenship Act, which detailed the requirements and qualifications for becoming a citizen.

Articles Relating to Citizenship in the Indian Constitution

Article 5: Citizenship at the Commencement of the Constitution

The citizenship of individuals on January 26, 1950, the day the Constitution went into effect, is discussed in this article. Citizenship is granted to those who reside in Indian territory and meet certain requirements.

A citizen was granted to:

• Individuals who were born outside of India but made their home there, even though both of their parents did.

• anyone who had been a regular resident of India for five years before the Constitution's adoption.

Article 6: Citizenship of certain persons who have migrated from Pakistan

• The provision granted Indian citizens who had immigrated from Pakistan citizenship.

• If one of a person's parents or grandparents was born in India, they were deemed citizens of India if they immigrated there before July 19, 1949 (both requirements must be met).

• After the aforementioned date, everyone moving from Pakistan to India had to go through the registration process.

Article 7: Rights of citizenship of certain migrants to Pakistan

Regardless of what is stated in Articles 5 and 6, an individual who moved from India to the area that is currently part of Pakistan after March 1, 1947, will not be considered an Indian citizen:

With the caveat that nothing in this article will apply to someone who, after migrating to the area that is now part of Pakistan, has returned to Indian territory under a permit for resettlement or permanent return granted by or under the authority of any law; in this case, the person will be considered to have migrated to Indian territory for clause (b) of Article 6 after July 19, 1948.

Article 8: Citizenship of certain persons of Indian origin residing outside India

The rights of persons of Indian descent living abroad concerning work, marriage, and education are covered in this article.

The right to privacy, family life, home, and correspondence (such as emails, letters, and phone calls) is safeguarded under Article 8.

Article 9: Persons voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign State not to be citizens

As long as someone chooses to willingly become a citizen of another country, they will no longer be an Indian citizen.

Article 10: Continuance of the rights of citizenship

Any individual who is deemed an Indian citizen by any of the provisions of this Part will remain such and be bound by any laws passed by Parliament.

Article 11: Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law

The right to citizenship must be governed by legislation by the Parliament

Nothing in this Part's previous sections shall limit Parliament's ability to enact laws about the obtaining and losing of citizenship as well as other citizenship-related issues.

Citizenship Amendment

The number of times the Citizenship Act of 1955 was changed is five. Up to now, the legislation has undergone five amendments. They are as follows:

Citizenship Amendment Act, 1986

• The idea of jus sanguinis has been accepted by the amendment. According to this, an Indian citizen is someone who was born in India on or after January 26, 1950, but before July 1, 1987.

• If any parent was born in India and the individual was not born there, they can obtain Indian citizenship if they were born after July 1, 1987, and before December 4, 2003.

Citizenship Amendment Act, 2003

• The requirement that one of a person's parents be an Indian citizen and the other not be an undocumented immigrant for a person born on or after December 4, 2004, to wish to get citizenship strengthened the statute granting citizenship.

• This was done to stop Bangladeshi illegal immigration.

Citizenship Amendment Act, 2005

• Although the notion of dual citizenship was created, the people of Bangladesh or Pakistan are not covered by it.

• In this context, "dual citizenship" refers to Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) citizenship.

Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)

• An overseas citizen of India (OCI) is an Indian national who resides or works abroad.

• In 2015, the OCI card and the Person of Indian Origin card were combined.

• A Person of Indian Origin (POI) is a person who is required to have an OCI card and has a passport from another nation but is of Indian descent.

Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019

The inclusion of a proviso to Section 2 (1)(b) of the Citizenship legislation, 1955 was the main alteration made by the legislation. According to the proviso, the following individuals will not be regarded as unlawful migrants for this Act:

• Anyone from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014, and who is a member of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian community

• or who has been granted an exemption by the Central Government under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, or from the Foreigners Act, 1946's provisions, or any rules or orders made thereunder.

Case Law

Akbar Khan Vs Union of India AIR 1962 SC 70

Fact About the Case: In this case, the appellant requested a declaration that he was an Indian citizen by filing a civil suit at the District Court of Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh. He was an Indian citizen at the time the Constitution was drafted, according to the petition. He made a brief tour to Pakistan. He was compelled, against his choice, to enter India using his Pakistani passport. In light of the case's history, a defence based on Section 9(2) of the Citizenship Act of 1955 was filed, claiming that the authority of civil courts is unqualified.

Judgement of the Case: The claim was rejected as barred by both the MP High Court and the trial court. The Supreme Court has provided an appropriate backdrop for the section's interpretation in SLP. Since every law affecting a court's jurisdiction must be properly interpreted, the right interpretation is that a civil court only has jurisdiction over topics that are subject to decision-making by the Central Government. The Central Government is only empowered to decide if, how, and when an Indian person voluntarily obtained citizenship in another nation. The civil court has jurisdiction to decide whether or not the individual is an Indian citizen. If such a question arises during the action, it should be sent to the Central Government for a final determination.

State of Gujarat Vs Yakub Ibrahim AIR 1974 SC 645

Fact About the Case: In this case, the Respondent was charged with Foreigners’ Order, 1958 for overstaying in India. Based on a Pakistani passport, he was in India. He argued in the trial court that he was an Indian citizen at the time the Constitution was drafted. He travelled to Pakistan and, against his choice, was forced to enter India using a Pakistani passport.

Judgement of the Case: Whether he was a foreign nationalist the relevant period was one of the issues in this case. Consequently, one question was whether he was no longer an Indian citizen. Both the trial court and the high court found no evidence of a Central Government decision, as required by section 9(2) of the Citizenship Act of 1955 when they exonerated the prosecutors. Regarding SLP by the State, the Supreme Court ruled that Section 9(2) requires the prosecution to base its case on the Central Government's assessment of the matter.

Bhagwati Prasad Dixit Vs Rajeev Gandhi AIR 1986 SC 1534

Fact About the Case: Rajeev Gandhi's election from the Amethi Parliamentary Constituency is being contested in an election petition for many reasons, including his voluntarily obtaining Italian citizenship through marriage to an Italian person and his purchasing of Italian real estate. The Supreme Court applied a rigorous interpretation of Section 9(2) of the Act to settle the dispute.

Judgement of the Case: The Indian citizenship of the Respondent was not disputed. By the legal framework outlined in Section 9, the Central Government must decide on the acquisition of foreign citizenship. If no such ruling is rendered, it must be presumed that the Respondent is an Indian national. In its role as an Election Tribunal, the High Court's authority is limited. A topic that is legitimately assigned to the Central Government cannot be decided by the High Court.

Conclusion

Part II of the Indian Constitution gives citizenship constitutional significance and makes it a Union List topic dealt with by the Parliament. The Citizenship Act, of 1955, which has been changed several times to maintain the speed of giving citizenship constant with the development in the field and necessities of the time, was implemented by the Indian Parliament by using the power granted under Article 11. The idea behind Vasudhav Kutumbakam clarifies the procedure for granting Indian citizenship to a candidate who has applied legally.