Termination of Indian Citizenship as per Citizenship Act 1955

Citizenship means the recognition of the status of a human in any country recognized by their law and is a legal member of that nation. In the Constitution of India, Part II of it, i.e., from Article 5 to Article 11, deals with citizenship. This term provides full membership to the citizens along with political and civil rights. Here article 10 of the Indian Constitution says that “Any person who is a citizen or is deemed to be a citizen of our nation under any foregoing provision then they are recognized under any law provision made by the parliament of India and will continue to be the citizen,” 

Article 5C, i.e., Draft article 10, was first debated on 10th, 11th, 12th August 1949 and was not a part of the Draft constitution of 1948 initially. The constituent assembly adopted Article 10 without any amendments in the Indian Constitution on August 12, 1949. 

PRINCIPAL MODES OF ACQUISITION OF INDIAN CITIZENSHIP AS PER CITIZENSHIP ACT 1955

The citizenship Act of 1955 deals with the principal modes of acquisition as per Indian citizenship. 

Acquisition of Indian Citizenship by Birth (Section 3 of CA, 1955)

Section 3 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 states that any person can acquire citizenship based on birth in India. This clause is subject to change and has been amended many times as per the place and time. The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2003 states that any person can get citizenship when at least one of his/her parents is a citizen of India and the other one is not an illegal immigrant. 

Acquisition of Indian Citizenship by Descent (Section 4 of CA, 1955)

It said that after January 26 1950, anyone taking birth even outside India with Indian Descent could take citizenship of India. But same as the birth clause, it is subject to change and has been amended many times as per the place and time. The current amended law says that after December 3 2004, if anyone was born outside the country, then the process of getting citizenship is different from before. Here, under one year, parents have to register their child for Indian citizenship. 

Acquisition of Indian Citizenship by Registration (Section 5 of CA, 1955)

To widen the whole process of getting Indian citizenship, this provision was introduced to specify categories of people who can register themselves as Indian citizens. Under this section, citizenship of India can be acquired by registration to the Central Government. 

Acquisition Of Indian Citizenship by naturalization (Section 6 of CA, 1955)

Under this provision, if a person submits an application as per the prescribed format under full capacity (Not being an illegal immigrant) to get a naturalization certificate, then the central government can accept the same. 

Acquisition of Indian Citizenship by territory incorporation

This provision says that if there is territory incorporation to Indian Territory, then the government of India will make the list of criteria as of who can be the citizen of India from that Territory.  

TERMINATION OF INDIAN CITIZENSHIP AS PER CITIZENSHIP ACT 1955

Under termination of Indian citizenship as per citizenship Act 1955, there are three modes by which an Indian citizen can lose their citizenship. 

Renunciation of Indian citizenship (Section 8 of CA, 1955)

Here the termination of Indian citizenship as per citizenship Act 1955 works as that any Indian Citizen under full capacity can renounce his/her citizenship and declare the same by registration. But if this renunciation is made during a time when India is at war, then the registration application will be withheld till otherwise directed by the government of India. 

Termination of Indian Citizenship as per citizenship Act 1955 (Section 9 of CA, 1955)

Here is, a citizen of India voluntarily goes and acquires foreign country citizenship, then automatically he/she ceases from Indian citizenship. Also, this provision doesn’t apply during the war and depends on the discretion of the Indian government. 

Deprivation of Indian Citizenship (Section 10 of CA, 1955)

Under this provision, there is compulsory termination of Indian citizenship as per the order by the Central government.

Conclusion

In this article, we see that citizenship is the right of every Indian citizen and cannot be taken away or terminated without reason—also, the modes of acquisition and termination of citizenship under the citizenship Act, 1955. Yes, the ultimate power lies in the hands of the Government of India, and they can terminate the citizenship of any person but as per the provisions and law of the country. Article 10 of the Indian Constitution also says that nothing other than this, which has been mentioned above, can take the citizenship of any person.