Originally Posted by
smcgrath12
Right, my whole issue is with this denial of Indian passport by MHA for minor Indian citizens
. This situation probably should be challenged in court and I am certain that govt will be on the losing side, if someone has the time & money to drag them through legal channels. I am not sure why MHA has instituted this rule (which has no basis in law)? Is it due to misunderstanding of the citizenship rules or due to laziness to change status quo, I am not sure.
I faced this situation for my own kid and after considering everything I went the route of US Passport --> PIO (and eventually OCI). But it is absolute disgrace that my kid cannot hold an Indian passport even though she IS an Indian citizen by descent (though practically it does not make any difference).
It is the distinction/ambiguity between (1) the right to hold/acquire citizenship(s) and (2) the holding of citizenship(s) which provides the breathing room the Home Ministry requires to: (a) be in compliance with the prevailing interpretations of the Indian Constitution and the included ban against Indian citizens holding a citizenship beside that of being an Indian citizen and doing so (b) while still allowing for children in the kind of circumstances you describe to have a right to hold/acquire Indian citizenship as permitted under the Indian Constitution and the rest of the applicable body of law.
There have been Indian Prime Ministers, Home Ministers, Law Ministers, various other Cabinet Ministers and Supreme Court judges who have seen what could be done to provide even their own "near and dear ones" with the widest latitude possible, and so far this (what you experienced) is what has come up despite this very kind of issue having been of personal concern to them going on for years now (and generally even until their deaths).
Unless/until there is a constitutional amendment removing the restriction against Indian citizens holding other country's citizenship, this is likely about as good as it's going to get.