While disposing a plea of a young second generation Tibetan refugee Tenzin Cheophag ling Rinpoche, the Karnataka High Court delivered a significant judgement and directed the authorities to issue him a passport which was denied to him.
A single bench judge of the Karnataka High Court Justice AS Bopanna directed the passport officials to issue passport to 27-year-old Tibetan refugee born in India as fast as possible. The court also ordered that the process should not take more than two months from the date of submission of all necessary documents by the petitioner.
“As the petitioner was born on November 11, 1985, which is before July 1, 1987, the petitioner also would be entitled to claim the status of an Indian citizen by birth,” the court observed, disposing of the petitioner’s plea.
The High Court also cited Parliament debate that set the cutoff dates and said anyone born within that period should be automatically considered as Indian citizens.
The Regional Passport Office in Bangalore had denied him the passport, saying those born to Tibetan refugees in India cannot be automatically treated as Indian citizens under the Citizenship Act. The authorities, objecting to the plea, stated that the petitioner’s date of birth did not automatically accord him the Indian citizenship and he should have filed an application seeking the citizenship as contemplated under Section 9 (2) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The authorities also pointed out that the petitioner, while applying for the passport, mentioned his nationality as Tibetan. Under such circumstances, the authorities could not issue the passport as the petitioner had not applied for Indian citizenship as per law, they argued.
Aggrieved by the order of the Regional Passport Office, Koramangala, which had consulted the Ministry of Home Affairs before denying him the citizenship, the petitioner approached the High Court.
The petitioner was born in India on November 11, 1985 in Mcleodganj at Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh. The authorities had issued him an identity card, which is a norm for Tibetan refugees in the country.
The petitioner’s advocate argued that declining the request of his client is not sustainable as those born between January 26, 1950 and July 1, 1987 to Tibetan parents settled in India would automatically be treated as Indian citizens by birth according to Section 3 (1) (a) of the Citizenship Act. He also referred to an order of the Delhi High Court in a similar case.
More than 1,50,000 Tibetan refugees have fled to India following the footsteps of the 14th Dalai lama in 1959. Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Indian Prime Minister, agreed to provide all assistance to the Tibetan refugees to settle in India until their eventual return.
The Tibetan diaspora maintains a Government in exile in Himachal Pradesh, which coordinates political activities for Tibetans in India. The Tibetan Government-in-exile functions from McleodGanj, a sleepy little town in Dharamshala.
Karnataka has five Tibetan settlements and has the largest population of Tibetan refugees. In Karnataka Tibetan settlements are in Bylakuppe , Gurupura, Oderapalya and Mundgod.