Caitu's bid to 'oust' citizenship issue from court failsTNN | Jul 17, 2013,
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PANAJI: In a significant order, the high court of Bombay at Goa recently
dismissed an objection raised by Benaulim MLA Caetano "Caitu" Silva and allowed
Valanka Alemao to produce a central government declaration stating that the MLA
had ceased to be an Indian citizen on the date he filed his nomination for the
assembly election in 2012.Alemao has relied upon a communication dated March
18, 2012, addressed to the external affairs minister and a communication by the
private secretary to the external affairs minister dated February 2, 2012,
which, according to Alemao, confirm that Silva was a Portuguese citizen since
August 21, 2010.Silva, who contested on the Goa Vikas Party ticket had filed an
application seeking rejection of a petition filed by Alemao, who he had
defeated in the March 2012 election.Alemao stated in the petition that Silva
got his birth registered in the civil registration office at Portugal on August
21, 2010, and as per that country's law, this amounts to acquisition of
Portuguese citizenship and hence Silva could not contest the
election.Dismissing Silva's application, Justice A P Lavande observed that even
if it is held that the issue regarding citizenship is within the exclusive
jurisdiction of the central government and the court has no jurisdiction to try
the issue yet, Alemao must be given an opportunity to produce the central
government declaration sating that Silva had ceased to be an Indian citizen at
the time of filing his nomination.The high court observed that the petition
filed against Silva on grounds that he was not an Indian citizen on the date of
filing of the nomination, cannot be dismissed on the ground that it is only the
central government which can decide the issue.Senior advocate S G Dessai, who
appeared for Silva, contended that in terms of Section 9(2) of the Citizenship
Act, 1955, the question as to whether a person has acquired the citizenship of
another country, shall be determined by an authority prescribed under the law
and, as such, the high court has no jurisdiction to decide on citizenship.
Dessai stated that as per the Citizenship Act, Silva is an Indian citizen.On
the other hand senior counsel J E Coelho Pereira, who appeared for Alemao,
submitted that the high court has powers to decide any issue arising in the
election petition, including the issue of citizenship.Passing the order, the
high court said, "In the case of Bhagwati Prasad Dixit Gorewala vs Rajiv
Gandhi, though the apex court held that the high court trying the election
petition can declare Indian citizen as having acquired citizenship of foreign
state only on the basis of declaration made by the central government, the apex
court observed that if such a declaration made by the central government is
produced before the high court trying the election petition, the high court has
to give effect to it and if such a declaration is not forthcoming, the high
court should proceed on the ground that the candidate concerned has not ceased
to be Indian citizen".
