Citizenship (Articles 5–11) — KSLU Constitutional Law Notes

Citizenship

Citizenship is membership of the club called India, and only members get the full set of privileges — the right to vote, to hold public office, to certain Fundamental Rights reserved for citizens (Arts 15, 16, 19). A tourist can enjoy the country; only a citizen helps run it. The rules on who joins and who leaves the club are what this topic is about.

Who belongs, and how

Citizenship is the full legal membership of a State, carrying the complete bundle of civil and political rights. The Constitution deals with citizenship in two layers:

Articles 5-11 decide who was a citizen at the commencement of the Constitution (26 January 1950) — essentially those domiciled in India, plus migrants and persons of Indian origin abroad, on stated conditions.
The Citizenship Act, 1955 governs everything after commencement — how citizenship is acquired and lost. Article 11 gives Parliament full power to make this law.

A quick orientation on the 6 W’s, so nothing is left hanging:

Who — natural persons only, not companies or corporations.
What — full legal membership of the State, carrying civil and political rights (vote, public office).
When — at the commencement of the Constitution (Arts 5-11), or afterwards by the modes under the Citizenship Act.
Where — India; there is a single citizenship, with no separate citizenship of a state.
Why — to define who belongs to the nation and may exercise political rights.
How — through the five modes of acquisition and three modes of termination set out below.

Modes of acquisition (Citizenship Act, 1955)

By birth (s.3) — a person born in India (subject to conditions that have tightened over the years about the parents’ status).
By descent (s.4) — a person born outside India whose parent was an Indian citizen at the time of birth (with registration conditions).
By registration (s.5) — for certain categories (e.g. persons of Indian origin, or spouses of citizens) who apply and are registered after satisfying residence conditions.
By naturalisation (s.6) — for a foreigner who has resided in India for the qualifying period and fulfils the statutory qualifications; the government grants a certificate.
By incorporation of territory (s.7) — when new territory becomes part of India, the government specifies who among its people become citizens.

Modes of termination (Citizenship Act, 1955)

By renunciation (s.8) — a citizen voluntarily gives up citizenship by declaration.
By termination (s.9) — citizenship ends automatically when a citizen voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country (India does not allow dual citizenship).
By deprivation (s.10) — a compulsory termination by the government, for registered/naturalised citizens, on grounds such as fraud in obtaining citizenship, disloyalty, or trading with the enemy in wartime.

🔑 Single citizenship — and why OCI is not citizenship.

India grants only one citizenship (of India, not of a state), and does not permit dual citizenship. The “Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)” card is a long-term visa/facility — it is not citizenship and does not carry the vote or public office.

🧩 WORKED EXAMPLE — can you compel a grant of citizenship?

Facts. ‘A’ came to India in 1938, left on a pilgrimage abroad in 1945, returned and was registered as a foreigner; his stay was extended several times, then refused in 1957. He asks the court to compel the government to grant him citizenship.

Rule. Citizenship after commencement is granted under the Citizenship Act on satisfying statutory conditions; registration/naturalisation involve government discretion — there is no automatic right to be granted citizenship, and a person registered as a foreigner has accepted that status.

Apply. ‘A’ was treated and registered as a foreigner; he does not meet the conditions for citizenship as of right, and the grant is discretionary.

Conclusion. ‘A’ cannot compel the government to grant him citizenship; the refusal is valid.

Can a company be a citizen?

Short answer: no. Citizenship under Part II and the Citizenship Act is for natural persons. A company or corporation is a legal person but not a citizen, so it cannot claim the rights reserved for citizens (like Art 19) — though it may still claim rights available to “persons” (like Art 14). This was settled in State Trading Corporation v Commercial Tax Officer (1963).

Article 5, Constitution of India (citizenship at commencement): every person who has his domicile in the territory of India and (a) was born in India, or (b) either parent was born in India, or (c) has been ordinarily resident in India for not less than five years immediately before commencement, shall be a citizen of India.

In Simple Terms: on 26 January 1950 you were an Indian citizen if India was your permanent home and you had a real connection to it — by birth, parentage or five years’ residence.

flowchart TD
    CIT["Indian Citizenship"]
    CIT --> ACQ["Acquisition (Act, 1955)"]
    CIT --> TERM["Termination (Act, 1955)"]
    ACQ --> A1["Birth (s.3)"]
    ACQ --> A2["Descent (s.4)"]
    ACQ --> A3["Registration (s.5)"]
    ACQ --> A4["Naturalisation (s.6)"]
    ACQ --> A5["Incorporation of territory (s.7)"]
    TERM --> T1["Renunciation (s.8)"]
    TERM --> T2["Termination — foreign citizenship (s.9)"]
    TERM --> T3["Deprivation by Govt (s.10)"]

Case Laws

State Trading Corporation v Commercial Tax Officer (1963) — a company is not a citizen and cannot claim citizen-only rights (Art 19).
Pradeep Jain v Union of India (1984) — there is only one citizenship, that of India; “domicile of India” is one national domicile (relevant to residence/domicile-based discrimination).
State of Bihar v Kumar Amar Singh (1955) — early illustration of the commencement-of-Constitution citizenship provisions (Arts 5-7) in action.

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