Woman living in India for 60 years gets court's consideration
What's the story
The Bombay High Court has directed the Mumbai Suburban District's Deputy Collector (General) to reconsider the citizenship of Ila Jatin Popat.
Popat, a Ugandan national, has lived in India for over 60 years. She had arrived in the country as a 10-year-old with her mother on valid documents.
The court noted the review should be fair and not based on any earlier decisions.
Reevaluation
Court orders reevaluation of citizenship application
The bench, consisting of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Dr Neela Gokhale, has directed the Deputy Collector to decide Popat's citizenship application within the next few weeks.
This was without prejudice to a previous ruling dated December 31, 2019, which Popat had challenged.
The initial rejection was on the grounds that she was stateless and had provided incorrect visa details.
Background
Popat's journey to Indian citizenship
Popat was born in Uganda in 1955 and came to India with her mother in 1966. Her parents had British passports.
She applied for an Indian passport on April 3, 1997, after marrying an Indian citizen and having two children, who are also Indian citizens.
However, her application wasn't processed due to the absence of travel documents establishing her entry into India.
Challenges
Repeated applications and citizenship challenges
Popat re-applied for an Indian passport in 2008 and again in 2012, but faced the same issue every time.
In response to her application, authorities advised her to register as an Indian citizen first. They told her that without proof of Indian citizenship, her passport application cannot be processed.
So she applied online for Indian citizenship on March 15, 2019, and submitted the necessary documents with her application.
Observations
Deputy collector's observations and court's remarks
The Deputy Collector observed that, as per Mumbai Police records, Popat is a stateless national by birth and has no valid passport or visa.
However, the authority admitted she can't be termed an 'illegal migrant.'
"In the absence of any illegal act committed by the petitioner...the petitioner cannot be rendered stateless."
The case has been posted for further hearing on April 29, 2025.