Pakistan Born Asif Karadia a Step Closer to Become Indian Citizen After 50 Years; Takes Oath Of Allegiance
The Mumbai collector administered an oath of allegiance to 53-year-old Pakistan born man, who is residing in India for the last 50 years.
Mumbai, June 4: The Mumbai collector administered an oath of allegiance to 53-year-old Pakistan born man, who is residing in India for the last 50 years. Six months ago the Bombay High Court had directed the government to consider a citizenship plea by Asif Karadia. Administering oath is the first official step towards grant of citizenship.
The court had granted Asif protection against deportation in January. While hearing his plea, the court observed it as a ‘unique case’. Karadia was represented in the court by lawyer Sujay Kantawala and government pleader Purnima Kantharia. The 55-year-old man returned to India when he was only three years old.
Asif’s father, Abbas Karadia, is an Indian citizen. His mother had a Pakistani Passport during the time of the marriage of his parents. They both got married in 1962 in Gujarat. According to a passport of his mother, she was born in Mumbai. The HC also observed that ‘though Asif conceived in India’, as per customs, his mother went to her parents’ place in Karachi. He was born on April 19, 1965. He and his mother came to India in 1967. Since then he is residing in Mumbai on long-term visas.
A joint petition was filed by Asif's father to avoid his deportation. Asif applied for citizenship in March 2015. According to a report published in The Times of India, their case was that under Section 5 of the Citizenship Act, Asif was eligible to be granted Indian citizenship. Apart from this, Article 5 of the Indian Constitution also grants a citizenship to a person, if either of whose parents was born in the territory of India.
After his birth in Karachi, his name was mentioned on the passport of his mother. In 1972, his mother was granted Indian citizenship after she surrendered her Pakistani passport. Asif married to an Indian woman and has three children. All his family members have Indian citizenship.
According to the report, Under the Citizenship Act, Asif pleaded he was entitled to citizenship by descent, registration and naturalization. Finally, Asif was called on May 31 to an oath of allegiance. The next hearing on his matter is scheduled on June 13.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 04, 2018 09:41 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).