New Delhi: Confusion on whether a passport is valid proof of citizenship continues with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) saying on Tuesday that it is a document issued by the government to “regulate the departure” of Indian citizens from the country and is issued after due verification.
On June 24, on the occasion of Passport Seva Divas, senior MEA officials had described the passport as a travel document, and not a document of citizenship. The officials responded to a question on whether the passport can be used as proof of citizenship for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls underway in several states by saying that the document i
s only meant for Indians to transit and travel through foreign ports and territories.
On Tuesday, when MEA external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was asked for a clarification on this matter at a regular media briefing, he replied: “An Indian passport is a document that, as per The Passports Act, 1967, is issued by the government of India to regulate the departure from India of citizens of India.
“It is issued after due verification laid out by an established process. The issue of passports to Indian citizens or any other individual is governed by The Passports Act, 1967 and Passports Rules, 1980.”
Less than 8% of Indian citizens currently have a passport, Jaiswal noted.
The earlier remarks by MEA officials that the passport is not a document of citizenship had triggered an intense debate, including on social media, and the government was criticised on the matter by the Opposition, including the Congress, as reported by Hindustan Times.
Government officials had then pointed to a 2013 judgement of the Bombay High Court that made it clear the passport is not proof of citizenship. They further noted that a provision of The Passports Act allowed the Central government to issue a passport “to a person who is not a citizen of India” if it is necessary to do so in the public interest.