Citizenship Act,1955 – s.7A(1) – Registration of Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder – Application for Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Card by wife-foreign spouse of a citizen of India – Presence of the estranged husband, if mandatory to process the application u/s.7A:
Held: Presence of the spouse of the applicant either physically or through the virtual mode is mandatory for effective consideration of the application for an OCI Card – Central Government is empowered to register the foreign spouse of a citizen of India as an OCI holder subject to such conditions, restrictions and manner as may be prescribed – Prior security clearance’ by the competent authority for eligibility is also required – Act clearly allows for supplementary procedures, such as an personal interview of the foreign applicant and his/her spouse separately as specified in the Visa Manual as well as the Checklist – In the absence of any challenge to the visa manual or the checklist, and ignoring the procedure in place, the High Court erred in granting the relief of dispensing with the requirement of physical/virtual presence of the spouse as also was unjustified in holding that mandating the physical presence of the husband is arbitrary – Having considered the process for verifying the genuineness, the direction issued in the impugned judgment to dispense with the presence of the applicant’s spouse, has no legal basis – Moreover, apart from the physical/virtual presence of the spouse other conditions are also to be satisfied by an applicant as is provided under the Act, the checklist and the Visa Manual for which even a declaration by the husband may be necessary – Impugned judgments of the Single Judge and the Division Bench of the High Court unsustainable and set aside. [Paras 14-18]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
This page is for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified advocate for advice specific to your situation.