UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF LEGAL STUDIES

PANJAB UNIVERSITY, CHANDIGARH

CONSTITUTION
PROJECT WORK

ACADEMIC SESSION: 2021-2022

TOPIC: CITIZENSHIP

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

PROF. SHRUTI BEDI KASHISH
UILS, PU, CHANDIGARH ROLL NO: 256/20 (SEC-E)
B.COM. LL.B. (SEMESTER-3)
UILS, PU, CHANDIGARH
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The success and final outcome of this project required a lot of guidance and assistance from
many and I am extremely fortunate to have got this all alone the completion of my project
report. Whatever I have done is only due to such guidance and I would never forget to thank
them.

I take this opportunity to record deep sense of gratitude to my teacher, Prof. SHRUTI BEDI,
University Institute of Legal Studies, Chandigarh for her incontestably perfect unmatched
guidance, encouragement, valuable suggestions and efforts made during the preparation of
this project successfully on the topic, “CITIZENSHIP”.

I owe my regards to the entire faculty of the department of Legal Studies, from where I have
learnt the basics of Law and whose informal discussions, intellectual support helped me in
the entire duration of this work.

KASHISH
3rd SEMESTER, SEC- ‘E’
ROLL NO. - 256/20
 INTRODUCTION

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It frames fundamental political principles,
procedures, practices, rights, powers, and duties of the government. It imparts constitutional
supremacy and not parliamentary supremacy, as it is not created by the Parliament but, by a
constituent assembly, and adopted by its people, with a declaration in its preamble. The Constitution
of India is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates
fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and
sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens. It is the longest written
constitution of any country. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 26 November
1949 and became effective on 26 January 1950. The constitution replaced the Government of India Act
1935 as the country's fundamental governing document, and the Dominion of India became
the Republic of India.
Part II of the Constitution deals with the law(Articles 5 to 11) relating to Citizenship of India at the
Commencement of the Constitution, i.e., on 26th January, 1950. These provisions were enacted
keeping in view the partition of the country in 1947 and the consequent problems, for example,
migration of people. As regards the Citizenship of India subsequent to the commencement of the
Constitution, the provisions are contained in the Citizenship Act, 1955 enacted by the Union
Parliament under Article 11.

CITIZEN, CITIZENSHIP

A citizen of a State is a person who enjoys full civil and political rights in that State. He enjoys full
membership of the political community. Therefore, citizenship simply means the membership of the
political community or the State Citizenship is a legal status determined by the specific rights and
duties. Citizen of a State is he "who has political rights in the duty of military service for, and
diplomatic protection abroad, by the State concerned." Citizenship carries with it certain advantages.
There are certain Fundamental Rights which are available only to the citizens of India. Again, citizens
alone have the right to hold certain high offices, such as, that of the President, the Vice President, the
Governor of a State, the Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, the Attorney-General, and
the Advocate General of a State. Also, the right to vote to elect representatives of the Union and the
State Legislatures, and the right to contest the elections and be elected to such Legislatures is vested
in a citizen of India only Citizenship carries with it certain obligations as well. For example, the
Fundamental Duties contained in Article 51-A are addressed to the citizens of India only.

The concept of Indian citizenship did not exist prior to November 26. 1949, when the Constituent
Assembly adopted the Constitution, bringing into force, at once, the provisions relating to citizenship.
During the British rule the residents in British India were British Subjects governed by the British
Nationality Acts. Princely States had no international personality and their subject enjoyed the status
of British protected person.
ARTICLE 5 : CITIZENSHIP AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION

At the commencement of this Constitution, every person who has his domicile in the territory of India
and –
(a) who was born in the territory of India; or
(b) either of whose parents was born in the territory of India; or
(c) who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five years immediately
preceding such commencement, shall be a citizen of India.

The article 5 talks about the Citizenship of India at the commencement of the Constitution. Under this,
every person who was born and has his domicile in the territory of India or either of whose parents
was born in the territory of India or who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not
less than five years preceding such commencement, shall be a citizen of India.

DOMICILE:
It means the home or the place where a person resides with the intention to remain there
permanently and without any present intention to remove himself therefrom. It is a place which a
person fixes as a habitation for himself and his family, for not a mere special or temporary purpose,
but with a present intention of making it his permanent home. It is the legal relationship between an
individual and a territory with a distinctive legal system which invokes that system as his personal
law.
Two elements are necessary for constituting the domicile of a person
(a) actual residence at the place,1 and
(b)-the present intention to remain there permanently2.

Thus, there must be both, the factum and animus, to constitute the existence of domicile, for neither
mere residence nor mere intention to reside at the place in sufficient to constitute the domicile of the
person.

Central Bank of India v. Ram Narayan,3

It is fully established that an intention to reside for ever in a country where one has taken up his
residence is an essential constituent element for the existence of domicile in that country. It was also
pointed out that if a person leaves the country of his origin with undoubted intention of never
returning to it again, nevertheless his domicile of origin adheres to him until he actually settles with
the requisite intention in some other country.
There are three kinds of domicile-domicile of origin, domicile of choice and domicile by operation of
law.
SINGLE DOMICILE:

In Pradeep Jain Vs. Union of India,4

the Supreme Court has repudiated the notion of State domicile raised in the case of D.P. Joshi v. State
of Madhya Bharat5 . The Court observed that the Constitution of India recognized only one domicile,
namely, the domicile in India. The Court observed that 'India was not a federal State in the traditional
sense of that term. It was not a compact of sovereign States which had come together to form a
Federation by ceding a part of their sovereignty to the federal State.

1
D.P. Joshi V. State of Madhya Bharat, AIR 1955
2
Central Bank of India v. Ram Narayan, AIR 1955 SC
3
AIR 1955,SC 36
4
Pradeep jain v. Union of India, AIR 1984 SC 1420
5
D.P. Joshi v. State of Madhya Bharat, AIR 1955 SC 334
ARTICLE 6: RIGHTS OF CITIZENSHIP OF CERTAIN PERSONS WHO HAVE MIGRATED TO INDIA
FROM PAKISTAN
Notwithstanding anything in article 5, a person who has migrated to the territory of India from the
territory now included in Pakistan shall be deemed to be a citizen of India at the commencement of
this Constitution if –
(a) he or either of his parents or any of his grand-parents was born in India as defined in the
Government of India Act, 1935 (as originally enacted); and
(b)(i) in the case where such person has so migrated before the nineteenth day of July, 1948, he has
been ordinarily resident in the territory of India since the date of his migration, or
(ii) in the case where such person has so migrated on or after the nineteenth day of July, 1948, he has
been registered as a citizen of India by an officer appointed in that behalf by the Government of the
Dominion of India on an application made by him therefor to such officer before the commencement
of this Constitution in the form and manner prescribed by that Government:
Provided that no person shall be so registered unless he has been resident in the territory of India for
at least six months immediately preceding the date of his application.

Article 6 talks about the migrants from Pakistan to India, this section has divided these people into
two categories6
-(i) those who came to India before 19th July, 1948, and
(ii) those who came to India on or after 19th July, 1948.

Migration from Pakistan to India before 19th July, 1948:-

Article 6 provides that a person of Indian origin shall be deemed to be a citizen of India, at the
commencement of the Constitution, if he, having migrated from Pakistan to India before the 19th July,
1948, has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India since the date of his migration.

Migration from Pakistan to India on or after 19th July, 1948

A person of Indian origin shall be deemed to be a citizen of India if he migrated from Pakistan to India
on or after 19th July, 1948, only when he has been registered as a citizen of India by an Officer
appointed in that behalf by the Government of the Dominion of India. His application could be
accepted for registration only if he had been resident in the territory of India for at least six months
immediately preceding the date of his application

ARTICLE 7: RIGHTS OF CITIZENSHIP OF CERTAIN MIGRANTS TO PAKISTAN

Notwithstanding anything in articles 5 and 6, a person who has after the first day of March 1947,
migrated from the territory of India to the territory now included in Pakistan shall not be deemed to
be a citizen of India:
Provided that nothing in this article shall apply to a person who, after having so migrated to the
territory now included in Pakistan, has returned to the territory of India under a permit for
resettlement or permanent return issued by or under the authority of any law and every such person
shall for the purposes of clause (b) of Article 6 be deemed to have migrated to the territory of India
after the nineteenth day of July, 1948.7

ARTICLE 8: RIGHTS OF CITIZENSHIP OF CERTAIN PERSONS OF INDIAN ORIGIN RESIDING

OUTSIDE INDIA
Notwithstanding anything in article 5, any person who or either of whose parents or any of whose
grandparents was born in India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 (as originally

6
Kulathil Mamma V. State of Kerala AIR 1966 SC 1614, term Migration came into consideration before the supreme court
7
State Of Assam v. Jilkadar Ali AIR 1972 SC 2166
enacted), and who is ordinarily residing in any country outside India as so defined shall be deemed to
be a citizen of India if he has been registered as a citizen of India by the diplomatic or consular
representative of India in the country where he is for the time being residing on an application made
by him therefor to such diplomatic or consular representative, whether before or after the
commencement of this Constitution, in the form and manner prescribed by the Government of the
Dominion of India or the Government of India.

ARTICLE 9: PERSONS VOLUNTARILY ACQUIRING CITIZENSHIP OF A FOREIGN STATE NOT TO BE

CITIZENS : DUAL CITIZENSHIP
No person shall be a citizen of India by virtue of article 5 or be deemed to be a citizen of India by
virtue of article 6 or article 8 if he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any foreign State.

Article 9 states that "a person who has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign state shall not
be deemed to be a citizen of India."
This article recognizes the principal that no Indian citizen can claim a double or a plural citizenship.
The question whether an Indian citizen has acquired the citizenship of a foreign country is one for the
determination by the central government and not by the court.

Mohd. Ayub Khan v. Commissioner of Police, Madras and Another8

In this case, the appellant had made an application under Section 9(2) of the Indian Citizenship Act,
1955 for the determination of his citizenship. Section 9(1) says that if any citizen of India acquired the
citizenship of another country between 26 Jan 1950 and the commencement of the Citizenship Act, he
ceased to be a citizen of India and sub-section (2) directs that if any question arises as to whether,
when or how any person has acquired the citizenship of another country, he shall be determined by
the prescribed authority.

Also, according to The Passports Act, a person has to surrender his Indian passport if he acquire
citizenship of another country, it is a punishable offense under the act if he fails to surrender the
passport.

State of Andhra Pradesh v. Khader, 19619 states that

"SEC 9(2) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, provides that if any question arises as to whether an Indian
citizen has acquired the citizenship of another country, it shall be determined by such authority and in
such manner as may be prescribed. Under r. 30 of the rules framed under that Act,, the authority to
decide that question is the Central Government. So the question whether the respondent, an Indian
citizen, had acquired Pakistani citizenship cannot be decided by courts."

ARTICLE 10: CONTINUANCE OF THE RIGHTS OF CITIZENSHIP

Every person who is or is deemed to be a citizen of India under any of the foregoing provisions of this
Part shall, subject to the provisions of any law that may be made by Parliament, continue to be such
citizen.
Art 10 provides that "every person who is our is deemed to be a citizen of India under the provision of
article 528 shall continue to be a citizen of India form subject for however format to the provision of
any law that may be made by the parliament."

8
Mohd. Ayub Khan v. Commissioner of Police, Madras and Another, 1965 AIR 1623
9
State of Andhra Pradesh v. Khader, AIR 1961 SC 1468
ARTICLE 11: PARLIAMENT TO REGULATE THE RIGHT OF CITIZENSHIP BY LAW

Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this Part shall derogate from the power of Parliament to make
any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters
relating to citizenship.

CITIZENSHIP OF INDIA AFTER THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE

CONSTITUTION : THE CITIZENSHIP ACT, 1955

The conferment of a person, as a citizen of India, is governed by Articles 5 to 11 (Part II) of the Indian
Constitution. Apart from the above Articles of the Indian Constitution, citizenship is also deeply
connected with the Citizenship Act, which is passed by the Indian Parliament in 1955. The act doesn't
apply to company, association of body of individuals, whether incorporated or not.
Citizenship Act 1955 speaks about the citizenship of India after the commencement of the
Constitution. It is an act to provide for the acquisition and termination of Indian citizenship.

The legislation related to this matter is the Citizenship Act 1955, which has been amended by the
Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1986, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1992, the Citizenship
(Amendment) Act 2003, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2005, and the Citizenship (Amendment Act,
2019).

What is the Citizenship Act, 1955?

The Act regulates that a person may become an Indian citizen if he is born in India or has Indian
parentage or has resided in the country over a period of time. However, illegal migrants are
prohibited from acquiring Indian citizenship.

Acquisition of Indian Citizenship as per Citizenship Act 1955: Indian Citizenship can be acquired
under the following ways :
(1) Citizenship at the commencement of the constitution of India
(2) Citizenship by birth: NB – This provision has different clauses for different periods
(3) Citizenship by descent
(4) Citizenship by registration
(5) Citizenship by naturalization.
(6) Citizenship by Incorporation of Territory

Termination of Indian Citizenship as per Citizenship Act 1955: One can lose citizenship of India in
three ways –
(1) Renunciation,
(2) Termination and
(3) Deprivation
Citizenship at the commencement of the constitution of India:

Persons domiciled in the territory of India as on 26 November 1949 automatically became Indian
citizens by virtue of the operation of the relevant provisions of the Indian Constitution coming into
force.

CITIZENSHIP BY BIRTH :

This act provide various modes of acquiring Indian citizenship after the commencement of the
constitution.
Section 3 of the citizenship act 1955 provide that every person born in India or after 26 January 1950
shall be a citizen of India by birth.10

The amendment act 198611, amends the section 3 and provides that citizenship can be acquired only
by such person whose either of the parent is a citizen of India at the time of his birth.

Any person born in India on or after 26 January 1950, but prior to the commencement of the 1986 Act
on 1 July 1987, is a citizen of India by birth.

A person born in India on or after 1 July 1987 is a citizen of India if either parent was a citizen of India
at the time of the birth.

The citizenship amendment act 200312 has amended section 3 to the effect that a person born in India
on for after the commencement of this amendment act shall be citizen of India by birth if at the time of
his birth both of the parents are citizen of India or one of whose parents is a citizen of India and the
other is not an illegal migrant.

Those born in India on or after 3 December 2004 are considered citizens of India only if both of their
parents are citizens of India or if one parent is a citizen of India and the other is not an illegal migrant
at the time of their birth.

An illegal migrant is a foreigner who:

(i) enters the country without valid travel documents, like a passport and visa, or
(ii) enters with valid documents, but stays beyond the permitted time period.

Illegal migrants may be imprisoned or deported under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport
(Entry into India) Act, 1920. The 1946 and the 1920 Acts empower the central government to regulate
the entry, exit and residence of foreigners within India.

CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT:

Section 4 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 states that a person born outside India on or after 26th January,
1950, shall be a citizen of India by Descent, if at the time of his birth, his father is a citizen of India.

However, if the father himself a citizen of India by Descent, then, such a person shall not be a citizen of
India unless-

10
Jan Balaz v. Anand Municipality
11
The citizenship amendment act, 1986
12
The citizenship amendment act, 2003
a) his birth is registered at the Indian consulate, or

b) his father is, at the time of his birth, in the service under the government in India

The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 199213

The Act provides that a person born after January 26, 1950 but before the commencement of the Act
shall be a citizen of India if the father is Indian at the time of birth; after the commencement of the Act,
the person shall be Indian if either of the parents is Indian. Also replaces references to "male persons"
with "persons".

The citizenship amendment act 200314 has amended section 4 to the effect that birth of such a person
as aforesaid shall not be registered on or after the commencement of this amendment act unless the
parent of such person declared in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed that the minor
does not hold the passport of another country. A minor who is a citizen of India by virtue of this
section and is also a citizen of other country shall cease to be a citizen of India if he does not renounce
the citizenship or nationality of another country within 6 month of attaining full age.

A person born outside India on or after December 10, 1992, but before December 3, 2004 if either of
his/her parent was a citizen of India by birth.

If a person born outside India or after December 3, 2004 has to acquire citizenship, his/her parents
have to declare that the minor does not hold a passport of another country and his/her birth is
registered at an Indian consulate within one year of birth.

CITIZENSHIP BY REGISTRATION:

Section 5 of Citizenship Act, 1955 provides for the registration of certain categories of the person as
citizen of India, these are:

A person of Indian origin who has been a resident of India for 7 years before applying for registration.
A person of Indian origin who is a resident of any country outside undivided India.
A person who is married to an Indian citizen and is ordinarily resident for 7 years before applying for
registration.
Minor children of persons who are citizens of India.15 16

CITIZENSHIP BY NATURALISATION:

Section 6 of Citizenship Act, 1955 provides for the acquisition of citizenship by naturalization.
Naturalization means to adopt, to introduce to any other country, to admit to citizenship, or to
naturalize as a citizen of a state. It,s an act by which rights of citizenship are conferred by a state upon
a person who are before, an alien to that state.
A person can acquire citizenship by naturalization if he/she is ordinarily resident of India for 14 years
(throughout 12 months preceding the date of application and 11 years in the aggregate) and fulfills
all qualifications in the third schedule of the Citizenship Act. (citizenship amendment act, 1986)
(citizenship amendment act, 2003)
This lays down that an illegal migrant cannot claim citizenship by naturalisation or registration even if
he has been a resident of India for seven years.

13
Came into force on 10th December, 1992
14
The citizenship amendment act, 2003
15
citizenship amendment act, 1986, extend the period from 6 months to 5 years( w.e.f. 26th nov, 1986)
16
citizenship amendment act, 2003, substituted seven years for 5 years ( w.e.f. 3 dec, 2004)
CITIZENSHIP BY INCORPORATION OF TERRITORY :

Section 7 of the citizenship act, 1955, provides that if any territory, not being part of the territory of
India, becomes a part of the territory of India, the Government of India made by order, notify in the
official gazette, specify the persons, who are the resident of such territory, to be citizen of India from
the date to specified in the order.
Indian nationality law largely follows the jus sanguinis (citizenship by right of blood) as opposed to
the jus soli (citizenship by right of birth within the territory).

Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 201917:

The amendment proposes to permit members of six communities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains,
Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan — to continue to live in India if they
entered India before December 14, 2014.
It also reduces the requirement for citizenship from 11 years to just 6 years.
Two notifications also exempted these migrants from the Passport Act and Foreigners Act.
A large number of organisations in Assam protested against this Bill as it may grant citizenship
to Bangladeshi Hindu illegal migrants.
The justification given for the bill is that Hindus and Buddhists are minorities in Bangladesh, and fled
to India to avoid religious persecution, but Muslims are a majority in Bangladesh and so the same
cannot be said about them.

ASSAM ACCORD, 198518

Assam witnessed large-scale illegal migration from erstwhile East Pakistan and, after 1971, from
present-day Bangladesh.
This led to the six-year-long Assam movement from 1979 to 1985, for deporting illegal migrants.
The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) led the movement that demanded the updating of the NRC and
the deportation of all illegal migrants who had entered Assam after 1951.
The Assam Movement against illegal immigration eventually led to the historic Assam Accord of 1985,
signed by the Movement leaders and the Rajiv Gandhi government.
It set March 25, 1971, as the cut-off date for the deportation of illegal migrants.
Since the cut-off date prescribed under articles 5 and 6 of the Constitution was July 19, 1949 - to give
force to the new date, an amendment was made to the Citizenship Act, 1955, and a new section (6A)
was introduced.

Section 6A19
The section was made applicable only to Assam.
It laid down that all persons of Indian origin who entered Assam before January 1, 1966 and have
been ordinary residents will be deemed Indian citizens.
Those who came after 1 January, 1966 but before March 25, 1971, and have been ordinary residents,
will get citizenship at the expiry of 10 years from their detection as a foreigner.
During this interim period, they will not have the right to vote but can get an Indian passport.
In Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha (2014) where the constitutionality of the 1986 amendment was
challenged (the Mahasangha argues that the cutoff year for Assam should be 1951 instead of 1971),
the court referred the matter to the Constitution Bench.

To examine whether Section 6A is constitutional and valid though it prescribes a different cutoff date
for Assam (1971) from the one prescribed in the Constitution for the rest of the country (1949). A

17
The citizenship amendment act, 2019
18
The act came into force on 7th Dec, 1985
19
Section 6A of Citizenship Act, 1955
five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court is yet to examine the constitutionality of Section 6A under
which the current NRC has been prepared. Identification of foreigners as needed by Section 6A was to
be done under the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, (IMDT Act), 1983, which was
applicable only in Assam while the Foreigners Act, 1946 was applicable in the rest of the country.

The provisions of the IMDT Act made it difficult to deport illegal immigrants.
On the petition of Sarbananda Sonowal (now the Chief Minister of Assam), the Act was held
unconstitutional and struck down by the Supreme Court in 2005.
This was eventually replaced with the Foreigners (Tribunals for Assam) Order, 2006, which again was
struck down in 2007.

Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) Card:

A PIO card applicant has to be a person of Indian origin who is a citizen of any country, other than
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan, China and Nepal; or a person who has held an
Indian passport at any time or is the spouse of an Indian citizen or a person of Indian origin;

Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card:20

OCI Card is for foreign nationals who were eligible to become a citizen of India on 26.01.1950 or was a
citizen of India on or after that date. Applications from citizens of Bangladesh and Pakistan are not
allowed.
Overseas Indian Card: A new Bill is pending in Parliament [The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill], which
seeks to do away with the existing overseas citizen of India (OCI) card and the person of Indian origin
(PIO) card, and replace them with a new overseas Indian card.
While PIO cardholders do not require a separate visa and can enter India with multiple entry facility
for 15 years; the OCI card is multiple entries, multi-purpose lifelong visa for visiting India. OCI card-
holders have parity with non-resident Indians in respect of economic, financial and educational
matters except in acquiring agricultural land. A PIO cardholder is required to register with local Police
authorities for any stay exceeding 180 days in India on any single visit. OCI is not dual citizenship.
There are no voting rights for an OCI cardholder.

LOSS OF INDIAN CITIZENSHIP:

The Citizenship Act envisages three situations under which a citizen of India may lose his Indian
nationality.

By Renunciation:
If any citizen of India who is also a national of another country renounces his citizenship through the
declaration, he ceases to be Indian Citizen.

By Termination :
Any person who acquired Indian Citizenship has voluntarily acquired citizenship of another country
at any time between January 26, 1950 to December 30,1955, shall have ceased to be an Indian Citizen.

Deprivation :
Government can deprive a citizen of his citizenship by issuing an order. However, this power may not
be used in the case of every citizen. It applies only to those, who acquired Indian Citizenship.
A person is deprived of Indian citizenship on the ground of obtaining the citizenship by fraud or
misrepresentation, disloyalty towards the Indian Constitution, communication with India’s enemy
during the war, imprisonment for longer than two years within five years of registration or
naturalization or residing outside India for longer than seven years at a time.
20
The act was bought into force with effect from 3rd Dec, 2004
Whether a Company or corporation a Citizen of not

In state trading corporation v. commercial tax officer21 the supreme court held that a company or
corporation could not be a citizen of India and therefore could not claim such of the fundamental
rights as has been conferred upon the citizens only.

In this connection, reference was made to the case of Janson v. Driefontain Consolidated Mines22, pp.
497, 501 and 505 for the proposition that a company may be regarded as a national of the country
where it was incorporated, notwithstanding the nationality of its shareholders. It is not necessary to
refer to other decisions, because the position is absolutely clear that a corporation may claim a
nationality which ordinarily is determined by the place of its incorporation. But the question still
remains whether "nationality" and "citizenship" are interchangeable terms. "Nationality" has
reference to the jural relationship which may arise for consideration under international law. On the
other hand "citizenship" has reference to the jural relationship under municipal law. In other words,
nationality determines the civil rights of a person, natural or artificial, particularly with reference to
international law, whereas citizenship is intimately connected with civic rights under municipal law.
Hence, all citizens are nationals of a particular State, but all nationals may not be citizens of the State.
In other words, citizens are those persons who have full political rights as distinguished from
nationals, who may not enjoy full political rights and are still domiciled in that country.

The citizenship act 1955 expressly excluded a company association body of individuals whether
incorporated or not from the concept of a person under the earth and so from the concept of Indian
citizen. Does only a natural person could be a citizen of the India under the constitution as well as
under the citizenship act 1955.

CONCLUSION

The Constitution of India provides for a single citizenship for the entire country. The provisions
relating to citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution are contained in Articles 5 to 11 in
Part II of the Constitution of India. The Citizenship Act enacted by the Parliament in 1955 provides for
acquisition and determination of citizenship.
Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019: The major issue with the amendment is that it provides
citizenship only to non-muslim immigrants who have live for five years from the the three countries.
However, any foreigner can still apply for citizenship but can only be registered after they have lived
in India for 11 years i.e by the normal process of naturalisation. Presently, the petition challenging the
amendment has been pending in the Supreme Court which will decide its constitutional validity.

21
state trading corporation v. commercial tax officer, AIR 1963 SC 1811
22
Janson v. Driefontain Consolidated Mines, 1902 AC 484