UNION OF INDIA Vs. RASHEEDA BANO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present intra-Court Appeal under Sec. 5 of the Kerala High Court Act, 1958, arises out of the judgment dtd. 23/7/2024, passed in W.P.(C) No. 18750/2022, whereby the writ petition was allowed. The appellant herein was the respondent No.1 in the writ petition, whereas the respondent Nos. 1 to 3 were the petitioners in the writ petition.

(2.) The brief facts of the case are that the Respondent No.1 is the mother of Respondent Nos. 2 and 3. The husband of Respondent No.1, Sri Mohammed Maroof, was born in India in a village called Kottayam - Malabar, in the Kannur District. He became an orphan at the age of nine, and he was adopted by his grandmother. In 1977, he migrated to Pakistan along with his grandmother. Later on, he was issued with a Pakistani passport. Sri Maroof is now employed in the United Arab Emirates. He had married Respondent No.1, who is the daughter of his uncle. In the year 2008, Sri Maroof's family moved to India based on the permission granted by the Indian Government to stay in India initially for a specific time frame, and thereafter, the said period has been extended from time to time.

(3.) The appellant issued an order in respect of Respondent No.2 stating that the Government of India has decided to grant registration to Respondent No.2 under Sec. 5(1)(f) of the Act subject to compliance with certain requirements and submission of documents. A similar order was also issued in respect of Respondent No.3 on 5/9/2017. One of the important documents which was required to be submitted is the Renunciation Certificate issued by the Pakistani Government. In the absence of the availability of the Renunciation Certificate, the citizenship of India cannot be granted.