TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2024
Team Herald
MARGAO: The Bombay High Court (HC) at Goa is hearing a fourth petition which has urged for directions to be issued for registration of an individual as an Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cardholder.
Last year in March, the regional passport office had revoked the petitioner’s Indian passport after he attempted to surrender it following his acquisition of Portuguese citizenship.
In his submission before the HC, he pointed out that he had clearly mentioned 'acquiring foreign nationality' as the reason in his surrender certificate application.
This is where he faced hurdles as he was told by the authorities that the surrender certificate could not be granted on the grounds that he had renewed his Indian passport after acquiring foreign nationality.
Furthermore, on March 11, 2023, he was directed to surrender his Indian passport within 21 days and provide an explanation.
However, before the stipulated time frame could lapse, he received a written communication from the authorities the very next day.
He has contested his Indian passport revocation notice, arguing that it accused him of obtaining an Indian passport by concealing his acquisition of foreign nationality in March 2022, a claim he refutes due to lack of evidence.
Challenging his disqualification for OCI status, he has insisted that there was no material on record to even remotely his ineligibility, a point he emphasised in his submission to the HC.
He added that the Foreigners Regional Registration Office notified him that because his prior Indian passport had been withdrawn, he was not qualified to be an OCI.
In addition, he submitted that he was born in Goa, to parents who were also born in Goa and who had registered their marriage in Goa too. After registering his birth in Portugal in 2011, he acquired the Portuguese passport in March 2022.
