The Ministry of External Affairs’ (MEA) recent claim that a passport is merely a travel document and not proof of Indian citizenship amounts to a “completely wrong” reading of the Passports Act, former Supreme Court judge Madan B. Lokur said on Saturday, warning the position could have serious consequences. He was speaking at a conclave on federalism and citizenship in New Delhi, organised by the Constitution Conduct Group.
Justice Lokur said Parliament deliberately used “passport” and “travel document” as separate terms in the Act, since legislatures never use redundant language — meaning a passport must be treated as legal proof that its Indian holder is an Indian citizen. He questioned the MEA’s stance, noting that Indian missions abroad issue visas to foreigners precisely based on their passports proving nationality; if India itself says passports don’t prove citizenship, it could damage the country’s international standing.
He also dismissed reliance on Section 20 of the Act — which allows passports in exceptional cases to non-citizens — as insufficient basis for the MEA’s broader claim, calling it a rare exception with no supporting data. He warned that if passport holders aren’t accepted as citizens, they risk losing fundamental rights under Article 19, available only to Indian citizens, unlike Articles 14 and 21.
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