Citizenship: Articles 5-11, the Citizenship Act 1955, the 2019 Amendment and Overseas Citizenship
LUG-104 Constitutional Law-I, Unit I: Law of citizenship in India: · LLB · 75 min
One long lecture on the whole of syllabus topic 5 and its three sub-lines (6-8): the constitutional provisions on citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution (Articles 5-11), the Citizenship Act 1955 (acquisition by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory; loss by renunciation, termination and deprivation; the Assam provisions), the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 and the constitutional debate it has raised, and Overseas Citizenship of India (sections 7A-7D). It answers the 2025-26 question on Articles 5-11 and the 2019 Act, the 2023-24 question on termination of citizenship and the 2019-20 short note on citizenship.
Objectives
- Explain who became a citizen of India at the commencement of the Constitution under Articles 5-8, including the position of migrants from and to Pakistan.
- Explain Articles 9-11 and the relationship between Part II and the Citizenship Act 1955.
- State the five modes of acquiring citizenship under the Citizenship Act 1955, with the dates that govern citizenship by birth.
- Distinguish renunciation, termination and deprivation of citizenship under sections 8-10.
- Explain the changes made by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 and the arguments for and against its validity.
- Explain Overseas Citizenship of India: eligibility, rights, limits and cancellation.
Slides
- Citizenship: what it is and why it matters in the Constitution
- Article 5: citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution
- Articles 6 and 7: migrants from Pakistan, and migrants to Pakistan
- Articles 8 to 11: Indians abroad, no dual citizenship, continuance, Parliament's power
- The Citizenship Act 1955: acquisition by birth and by descent
- The Citizenship Act 1955: registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory
- Loss of citizenship: renunciation, termination, deprivation (sections 8-10)
- Assam: section 6A, the IMDT case and the 2024 decision
- The Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019: what it changed
- The 2019 Amendment: the constitutional debate
- Overseas Citizenship of India (sections 7A-7D)
- How the examiner asks it
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