With the Amendment of section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955 by the coming into force of Section 4 the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, (CAA) the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has now been empowered with discretionary powers whereby the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) Status could be revoked for violating any of the provisions of the Citizenship Act or any other law in force.
This unbridled power being conferred upon the Ministry of External Affairs by the coming into force of the CAA, could help to fan the flame of capriciousness of the bureaucratic machinery in the country, especially when it comes to Portuguese Passport holders who have applied for the OCI Status of India and in the time being had also applied for British Citizenship thereby seeking the citizenship of a third country and this act could be perceived violating the rules under Section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955 which provides for the cancellation of registration as overseas citizens of India.
7D. Cancellation of registration as Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder.
- The Central Government may, by order, cancel the registration granted under sub-section (1) of section 7A, if it is satisfied that-
(a) the registration as an Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder was obtained by means of fraud, false representation or the concealment of any material fact; or
(b) the Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder has shown disaffection towards the Constitution, as by law established; or
(c) the Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder has, during any war in which India may be engaged, unlawfully traded or communicated with an enemy or been engaged in, or associated with, any business or commercial activity that was to his knowledge carried on in such manner as to assist an enemy in that war; or
(d) the Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder has, within five years after registration under sub-section (1) of section 7A, been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years; or
(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] [Inserted by Act No. 47 of 2019, dated 12.12.2019.]
(e) it is necessary so to do in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of India, friendly relations of India with any foreign country, or in the interests of the general public; or
(f) the marriage of an Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder, who has obtained such Card under clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 7A,-
(i) has been dissolved by a competent court of law or otherwise; or
(ii) has not been dissolved but, during the subsistence of such marriage, he has solemnised marriage with any other person.]
[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.] [Inserted by Act No. 47 of 2019, dated 12.12.2019.]
According to Amnesty International (2024), in their Article entitled:
India: Citizenship Amendment Act is a blow to Indian constitutional values and international standards, Amnesty International (2024) has expressed the following views:
Targeting of OCI card holders
“The 2019 amendment also expanded the ambit of the criteria under which the Government of India can cancel the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) registration and added the ‘violation of Citizenship Act or any other law in force’ as one of the grounds. These vague and overbroad criteria add another weapon in the ever-expanding arsenal of laws and policies brought by the Indian government to target and punish dissenting voices. As per government data, between 2014 and May 2023, 102 OCI cards have been cancelled including those of journalists Aatish Taseer and Vanessa Dougnac and academic Ashok Swain and many others for expressing dissent, critical reporting or participation in protests.”
Hence, the procedure according to which the OCI Status of a person can be terminated for broadly violating any of the provisions of the Citizenship Act or any other law in force remains shrouded in secrecy and at present only the draftsman of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 would be fully aware of the procedure that the administrative officers are expected to interpret, improvise and follow.
Even Adv. Albertina Almeida in her article entitled: The CAA’s Provision For Cancelling OCI Is Aimed At Punishing Dissenters (2020) had neatly delineated the undesirable side effects of the proposed amendment to the Goan scenario.
“Goa has a disproportionate number of OCI cardholders in relation to its population, because, for social and economic mobility, many Goans obtained Portuguese passports. Obtaining, or rather reaffirming, Portuguese citizenship was a right of Goans who were citizens of Portugal at the time of India’s annexation of territories of Goa, Daman and Diu.” Almeida (2020)
“Upon obtaining a Portuguese passport, these persons must surrender their Indian passports. Given how the law is structured and implemented, the only way Goans with Portuguese passports were permitted to maintain a physical connect with Goa was through registration as an OCI.” Almeida (2020)
“India already has a history of canceling OCI registration, on the grounds of concealment of material fact – the merits of the cancellation notwithstanding. The cancellation of the OCI of Aatish Taseer is a case in point. Such incidents will only increase with the introduction of provisions that derogate from the already existing due processes of law to determine a violation of the law.” Almeida (2020)
Therefore, what remains to be seen now is whether the Union Government would be transparent enough to clarify as to whether the Goan Portuguese Passport holders who hold British Permanent Resident status would stand to lose their OCI Status for having violated any of the unspecified laws which have been envisaged in the newly inserted sub-Section 7 (da) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
