LexTHE GOVERMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH versus SYED MOHD. KHAN
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1&6t
Apdl 17.
288 S"CPREME COURT REPOR'l S [1962] SUPP.
THE GOVERNjfE:XT OF ANDHRA PRADESH
v.
SYED MOHD. KHA..~
(B. P. SINHA, c. J., P. B. GA.TENDRAGADKAR,
K. N. WA:S-CHOO, N. RAJAGOPALA AYYANOAR and
T. L. VENKATARAMA AIYAR, JJ.)
. Citiu.,hir>-Wh•th.r a P'rson acquired the Citizr.n,,hip of
Foreign Stale-Question. to ,,, d1cided b11 Cmtral Goi:anment-
Foreign J>a.lfsporl doe..ir not automaticali.11 pro1,·p ata..tulory r,e,sser
of lndian Ci1fro1s/11"r>-Citizen,,hipAct, 19.55('17 of 19.55) s. IJ(2)
-CifizP.11shi7i Rule.If, 19.)6, k';ch. III, r. 3.
The Govcmmrnt of Andhra Pradesh ordered the respon-
dents, who had come to India with Pakistan Passport, to
remove thcm~elvcs out of India within a specified date. l'he
rc~poncicnts filed writ petitions in the High Court against the
saicl orclers and the single Judge who heard them held inter
alia that as a result of s. 9 read with r. 3 in Sch. IJI of the
Citizenship Rules as soon as it is shown that a person had
::tcquired a pa'isport from Pakistan Government there is an
automatic statutory crssrr of his citizenship of India. This
decision was challen~ed in appral before the Division Bench
of the High Court of Andhra. The Division Br.nch held that
s. 9 was infra vi,.,,, but found that r. 3 of Sch. II I of
Citizenship Rules was ultra t•irf.8.
However the High Court
made it clrar that it-; decision in
question \\'ould
not
preclu~e the Central Govcrn'n1r.nt from deciding the 'lUestion
, ... hether the present respondents had acquired citizenship of
a foreign co11ntry or not, but it directed that the Central
Governm~nt must ignorer. 3 of sch. Ill \vhich in its view was
ultra l'irr.«~.
It is against this decision of the Divi'.!ion Bench
that the Andhra Governrriel'\t ha-; come up in appeal to this
C'.onrt by certificate gra,lled by the Andhra Pradesh High
Court.
TlrTrl., that the points rai-;ed in these appeals
are
concluded bv the decision of this Court in lzhar Ahmad K hrzn
v. [:.nion of lnrlir:r.
In all ca.ccs where action is proposed to
be taken against persons residin.[{
in
this country on
the
gro11nd that they have acquired Citizenship of a foreign state
and have !Ost in consequence the citizenship of this country
it is essential that that question should fin;t be considered hy
the Cr.ntral Government.
In dealing \'lith the question the
Central Government Would undoubte<lly be rntitlcd to give
dfrct tor. 3 in Sch. III of the Citizehship Rules and deal
3S.C.R.
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
28!l
with the matrer in accordance with the other relevant rules
framed under the Act
It cannot be said that by virtue of s. 9 of the Act as
~oon as it is shown that a person has acquired a passport
from the Pakistan Government, there is an automatic statu~
tory cesscr of his Citizenship of India.
The questi.on about
the status of the respondents has to be tried by the Central
GOvernrnent and it is 01ily after tJ e Central Government has
rC!ached the conclusion that the respondents have acquired
the citizenship of Pakistan that the authorities can issue order
of deportation against such person.
CIVIL APPELLA'l'E J URISDIC'rION : Civil A ppcals
Nos. 258 -27!l of 1961.
Appeals from the judgment and order dated
September 4, HJ57, of the Andhra Pradesh High
Court in Writ Appeals No. 46, 66 and 73of1957.
T. V. R. -Tatachai·i and P. D. Menon, for
the appellants.
P. Ram Reddy, for respondents in Appeals
Nos. 258, 265, 261, 271, 273, 275 and 279 of 19til.
196!; April 17. The Judgment of the Court
was delivered by
I96Z
The·Golle,nment of
A.ndhra ·P'f'fh/tsh
••
Sytd Mohd. J(h,n
GAJENDRAGADKAR, J.-This group of twenty-
Gqjendwgadkar J.
two appeals has been brought to this Court with
certificates granted by the Andhra High Court,
and they challenge the con ectness of the decision
of the said High Court that r. 3 in Sch. III of the
Citizenship Hules, 1956 is
ultra vires.
Twenty-
two persons who are the rei, pectivc respondents in
these appeals filed twenty-two writ petitions in the
Andhra High Court challenging the validity of the
orders passed by the appellant, Government
of
Andhra Pradesh, asking each one of them to remove
themselves out of India before the date specified
in the notices served on them in that behalf. It
appears that all tht: said persons had come to India
with a passport issued in their favour by the Govern·
ment of Pakistan, and the appellant's case before
il'G2
!'lit ancernment of
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