KHALIL AHMAD Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The following questions have been referred to us for decision : (1) Whether the question of citizenship can be decided by the Central Government or by the law Courts ? (2) What is the effect of clause (iii) of Schedule III of the Citizenship Rules of 1956? (3) Does a person contravene Section 14 of the Foreigners Act if he does not obtain a permit and stays in India beyond the date mentioned in the visa?

(2.) The above reference; has arisen out of a revision petition filed by Khalil Ahmad against his conviction and sentence under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946. The applicant was born in India of Indian parents who were domiciled in the country. He left India for Pakistan in March, 1950 after the Constitution had come into force. Thereafter he arrived in India under a Pakistani Passport No. 09531 dated 9-1-1953 bearing Indian, visa No. 546 of Category 'C' dated 3-1-1957 issued by the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan at Karachi. The visa was valid up till the 25th April, 1957. The applicant entered India on the 25th January 1957 on the basis of the passport and the visa mentioned above. He, however, did not obtain any permit from the civil authorities and continued to stay in India even after the expiry of the period mentioned in the visa. He was, therefore, prosecuted for breach of Para 7 of the Foreigners Order 1948 and convicted under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act. He preferred am appeal from his conviction and sentence to the Sessions Judge of Bareilly which was dismissed. Thereupon he moved this Court by means of a revision application and contended that he was not a 'foreigner' within the meaning of the Fo-reigners Act. His case was that he was an Indian citizen at the time when he went to Pakistan within the meaning of Article 5 of the Constitution.

(3.) In order to appreciate the arguments of the learned counsel it is necessary to set out the various provisions of the Constitution bearing on this matter.