CITIZENSHIP (AMENDMENT) ACT,
2019 THE
CITIZENSHIP (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2019 [Act
No. 47 of 2019] [12th
December, 2019] An Act further to amend the Citizenship
Act, 1955. Be it enacted by Parliament in the
Seventieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-- (1) This Act may be
called the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. (2) It shall come into
force on such [1]date
as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
appoint. In the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of
1955) (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), in section 2, in
sub-section (1), in clause (b), the following proviso shall be inserted,
namely:-- "Provided that any person
belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from
Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before the
31st day of December, 2014 and who has been exempted by the Central Government
by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the
Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 (34 of 1920) or from the application of
the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 (31 of 1946) or any rule or order
made there under, shall not be treated as illegal migrant for the purposes of
this Act;". After section 6A of the
principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:-- '6B. ?Special provisions as to citizenship of person
covered by proviso to clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2 (1) The Central
Government or an authority specified by it in this behalf may, subject to such
conditions, restrictions and manner as may be prescribed, on an application
made in this behalf, grant a certificate of registration or certificate of
naturalisation to a person referred to in the proviso to clause (b) of
sub-section (1) of section 2. (2) Subject to
fulfillment of the conditions specified in section 5 or the qualifications for
naturalisation under the provisions of the Third Schedule, a person granted the
certificate of registration or certificate of naturalisation under sub-section
(1) shall be deemed to be a citizen of India from the date of his entry into
India. (3) On and from the date
of commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, any proceeding
pending against a person under this section in respect of illegal migration or
citizenship shall stand abated on conferment of citizenship to him: Provided that such person shall not be
disqualified for making application for citizenship under this section on the
ground that the proceeding is pending against him and the Central Government or
authority specified by it in this behalf shall not reject his application on
that ground if he is otherwise found qualified for grant of citizenship under
this section: Provided further that the person who
makes the application for citizenship under this section shall not be deprived
of his rights and privileges to which he was entitled on the date of receipt of
his application on the ground of making such application. (4) Nothing in this
section shall apply to tribal area of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura as
included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and the area covered under
"The Inner Line" notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier
Regulation, 1873 (Reg. 5 of 1873).'. In section 7D of the
principal Act,-- (i) after clause (d), the
following clause shall be inserted, namely:-- "(da) the Overseas Citizen of
India Cardholder has violated any of the provisions of this Act or provisions
of any other law for time being in force as may be specified by the Central
Government in the notification published in the Official Gazette; or"; (ii) after clause (f), the
following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-- "Provided that no order under this
section shall be passed unless the Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder has
been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.". In section 18 of the principal
Act, in sub-section (2), after clause (ee), the following clause shall be
inserted, namely:-- "(eei) the conditions,
restrictions and manner for granting certificate of registration or certificate
of naturalisation under sub-section (1) of section 6B;". In the Third Schedule to the principal
Act, in clause (d), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-- 'Provided that for the person belonging
to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community in Afghanistan,
Bangladesh or Pakistan, the aggregate period of residence or service of
Government in India as required under this clause shall be read as "not
less than five years" in place of "not less than eleven
years".'. Statement of Objects
and Reasons - CITIZENSHIP (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2019 STATEMENT
OF OBJECTS AND REASONS (1) The Citizenship Act,
1955 (57 of 1955) was enacted to provide for the acquisition and determination
of Indian citizenship. (2) It is a historical
fact that trans-border migration of population has been happening continuously
between the territories of India and the areas presently comprised in Pakistan,
Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Millions of citizens of undivided India belonging
to various faiths were staying in the said areas of Pakistan and Bangladesh
when India was partitioned in 1947. The constitutions of Pakistan, Afghanistan
and Bangladesh provide for a specific state religion. As a result, many persons
belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities have
faced persecution on grounds of religion in those countries. Some of them also
have fears about such persecution in their day-to-day life where right to
practice, profess and propagate their religion has been obstructed and
restricted. Many such persons have fled to India to seek shelter and continued
to stay in India even if their travel documents have expired or they have
incomplete or no documents. (3) Under the existing
provisions of the Act, migrants from Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian
communities from Afghanistan, Pakistan or Bangladesh who entered into India
without valid travel documents or if the validity of their documents has
expired are regarded as illegal migrants and ineligible to apply for Indian
citizenship under section 5 or section 6 of the Act. (4) The Central
Government exempted the said migrants from the adverse penal consequences of
the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and the Foreigners Act, 1946 and
rules or orders made thereunder vide notifications, dated 07.09.2015 and dated
18.07.2016. Subsequently, the Central Government also made them eligible for
long term visa to stay in India, vide, orders dated 08.01.2016 and 14.09.2016.
Now, it is proposed to make the said migrants eligible for Indian Citizenship. (5) The illegal migrants
who have entered into India up to the cut of date of 31.12.2014 need a special
regime to govern their citizenship matters. For this purpose the Central
Government or an authority specified by it, shall grant the certificate of
registration or certificate of naturalisation subject to such conditions,
restrictions and manner as may be prescribed. Since many of them have entered
into India long back, they may be given the citizenship of India from the date
of their entry in India if they fulfill conditions for Indian citizenship
specified in section 5 or the qualifications for the naturalisation
under the provisions of the Third Schedule to the Act. (6) The Bill further
seeks to grant immunity to the migrant of the aforesaid Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist,
Jain, Parsi and Christian communities so that any proceedings against them
regarding in respect of their status of migration or citizenship does not bar
them from applying for Indian citizenship. The competent authority, to be
prescribed under the Act, shall not take into account any proceedings initiated
against such persons regarding their status as illegal migrant or their
citizenship matter while considering their application under section
5 or section 6 of the Act, if they fulfil all the conditions for
grant of citizenship. (7) Many persons of
Indian origin including persons belonging to the said minority communities from
the aforesaid countries have been applying for citizenship under section
5 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 but they are unable to produce proof of
their Indian origin. Hence, they are forced to apply for citizenship by
naturalisation under section 6 of the said Act, which, inter alia,
prescribe twelve years residency as a qualification for naturalisation in terms
of the Third Schedule to the Act. This denies them many opportunities and
advantages that may accrue only to the citizens of India, even though they are
likely to stay in India permanently. Therefore, it is proposed to amend the
Third Schedule to the Act to make applicants belonging to the said communities
from the aforesaid countries eligible for citizenship by naturalisation if they
can establish their residency in India for five years instead of the existing
eleven years. (8) Presently, there is
no specific provision in section 7D of the Act to cancel the
registration of Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder who violates any
provisions of the Act or any other law for the time being in force. It is also
proposed to amend the said section 7D so as to empower the Central
Government to cancel registration as Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder in
case of violation of any provisions of the Act or any other law for the time
being in force. (9) Since there is no
specific provision in the Act at present to provide an opportunity of being heard
to the Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder before cancellation of the Overseas
Citizen of India Card under section 7D, it is proposed to provide the
opportunity of being heard to the Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder before
the cancellation of the Overseas Citizen of India Card. (10) The Bill further
seeks to protect the constitutional guarantee given to indigenous populations
of North Eastern States covered under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution
and the statutory protection given to areas covered under "The Inner
Line" system of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873. (11) The Bill seeks to
achieve the above objectives.
Preamble - CITIZENSHIP (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2019PREAMBLE