Govt delegates power to collectors of 13 districts; home secretaries of 2 states on granting citizenship

May 29: The Union Home Ministry under Modi-led BJP Govt on Friday delegated powers for grant of Indian Citizenship in respect of any person belonging to minority community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians to the home secretaries of Punjab and Haryana, besides collectors of 13 additional districts spread across Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. The Union home ministry issued a notification vide no. S.O. 2069(E), dated-28th May, 2021 in this effect for immediate implementation of the order under the Citizenship Act 1955 and Rules framed under the law in 2009.

People who are eligible to apply for Indian citizenship are those currently living in the districts of Morbi, Rajkot, Patan and Vadodara of Gujarat, Durg and Balodabazar in Chhattisgarh, Jalore, Udaipur, Pali, Barmer and Sirohi in Rajasthan, Faridabad in Haryana and Jalandhar in Punjab.

“The application for registration as citizen of India or grant of certificate of naturalisation as citizen of India under the said rules (Citizenship Rules, 2009) shall be made by the applicant online,” the notification said. The collector or the secretary on being satisfied with the suitability of the applicant, will grant him the citizenship of India by registration or naturalisation and issue a certificate of registration or naturalisation, as the case may be, duly printed from online portal and signed by the collector or the secretary in the form as prescribed in the said rules, the notification said.

The collector or the secretary shall maintain an online as well as physical register, in accordance with the said rules, containing the details of the person registered or naturalised as a citizen of India and furnish a copy thereof to the central government within seven days of such registration or naturalisation, it said. “This order shall come into force on the date of its publication in the official gazette and shall remain valid until further orders,” the notification said.

These powers were since 2016 (vide Notification No 4132(E)) delegated to the home secretaries of seven states and collectors of 16 districts across these seven states. Again, in the year 2018, the MHA has extended the powers by issuing a fresh notification being no.5377(E). This order comes into force 22 December and shall remain valid until further order.

It is also to be mentioned here that a similar notification empowering collector in Gujarat and Rajasthan was issued in 2003-04 during the tenure of then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But in the year 2015, Modi Govt.had exempted six undocumented minority communities—Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India before December 31, 2014 vide two Notifications dated- 7th September, 2015.

The recent notification is no way connected to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) enacted in the year 2019 and the rules under the CAA are yet to be framed by the Modi Government. The Modi Govt. has sought a further extension from Parliament citing the Covid-19 situation in the country for the framing of rules for the CAA. The Committees on Subordinate Legislation, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, had earlier granted time up to April 9, 2021, and July 9, 2021, respectively to frame the CAA rules. Since citizenship is in the Union List, only the central Government enjoys the power to grant citizenship unless delegated. Hence, Section 16 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 as amended up-to-date deals with exclusive provision regarding delegation of powers.