Karnataka HC rejects plea seeking Indian citizenship for two minors born to Pakistani father

Two minors born to a Pakistani father and Indian mother living in Bengaluru are facing a legal challenge after a Karnataka High Court bench headed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna rejected a plea seeking Indian citizenship for the two children.

The law of attaining 21 years of age to denounce the citizenship of Pakistan has become a roadblock for attaining Indian citizenship for the two minors, who are presently living with their separated mother in Bengaluru.

The court ruling came on Wednesday.

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In 2002, Ameena Rahil from Bengaluru had married Pakistani national Assad Mallik in Dubai, where they had settled down. However, in 2014, the couple got divorced in a court in Dubai, which gave the custody of the two children to Ameena.

In 2021, Ameena decided to return to her mother's place in Bengaluru along with her two kids aged 17 and 14. Though Ameena is an Indian national, her kids are Pakistani nationals as their father hails from that country.

Ameena had contacted the Indian Embassy in Dubai after she faced legal hurdles to bring her children to India. On a humanitarian ground, the Indian Embassy had given temporary passports to the children after submitting their earlier passports to the Pakistan Embassy.

Now the children have to obtain Indian passport and citizenship, as the duration of the temporary passport has lapsed.

Ameena and her family had made submissions to the Union Home Ministry seeking extension of the temporary passport. But now with the high court rejecting their plea, Ameena and her children are worried over the consequences.

Family sources said they are hoping to get an extension of the temporary duration from the Home Ministry.