The Centre on Thursday defended its position that an Indian passport should not be treated as conclusive proof of citizenship, stressing that the legal interpretation is longstanding and does not represent a new policy.
The clarification followed criticism from Opposition parties and widespread debate on social media after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated a day earlier that a passport is essentially a travel document rather than definitive evidence of nationality. Responding to the controversy, a government official said the position has remained unchanged for decades. "It was not decided yesterday that the Passport is not a proof of citizenship. It was not even decided in the last 12 years," the official said, rejecting suggestions that the government had recently altered its stance.
The remarks came after the MEA, during a briefing marking Passport Seva Divas, highlighted the advantages of India's new chip-enabled e-passports. During the interaction, officials also reiterated that possession of a passport alone does not legally establish Indian citizenship.
The statement prompted questions over why a document recognised internationally for travel and identity purposes is not regarded as conclusive proof of nationality under Indian law.
Seeking to explain the legal position, the Centre pointed to existing legislation as well as judicial precedents. "The Passport has never been a proof of citizenship. The Passport Act 1967 says that passports can be given to non-citizens. Judgments of the Bombay HC from 2013 have made it clear that passport is not a proof of citizenship," the official said.
The government also referred to Section 20 of the Passports Act, 1967, which empowers the Central Government to issue passports or travel documents to non-citizens in exceptional circumstances if doing so is considered to be in the public interest. Under the provision, a passport or travel document may be issued "to a person who is not a citizen of India" whenever the government deems such action necessary in the public interest.
The clarification has reignited a broader discussion over how Indian citizenship is legally established if a passport cannot serve as definitive proof. The issue gained momentum online, with many social media users questioning why a document accepted by immigration authorities across the world and used to obtain consular protection abroad is not recognised as conclusive evidence of citizenship within India.
Government officials, however, emphasised that India has never adopted a single nationally issued citizenship certificate that automatically establishes citizenship in every case. They also referred to a reply given by the Ministry of Home Affairs in Parliament in February 2020.
At the time, the ministry was asked whether documents such as Aadhaar, passport, voter identity card, PAN card or a birth certificate could individually be accepted as definitive proof of citizenship. The ministry did not identify any one document as conclusive evidence. Instead, it maintained that questions relating to citizenship are governed by the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the rules framed under it. Under the law, Indian citizenship may be acquired through birth, descent, registration, naturalisation or the incorporation of territory. As a result, citizenship is determined on the basis of an individual's legal status and supporting documentation, rather than through possession of any single government-issued identity document.
