Consider Tibetan’s plea for passport, Delhi High Court tells Centre

Observing that passport is the fundamental right, the Delhi high court on Wednesday asked the Centre and its instrumentalities to consider a plea for renewal of passport of an India-born journalist of Tibetan descent, saying he has fundamental right to have the document as he has acquired his citizenship by birth.

“The passport is his (petitioner’s) fundamental right. He also acquired his citizenship by birth. These are short issues and should be sorted out. He is naturally born in India which is not in dispute (as per the ministry),” Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said.

Lobsang Wangyal was denied renewal of the passport on the ground that he has to first apply for Indian citizenship under the Indian Citizenship Act.

The observation came while hearing a petition by a 46-year-old journalist of Tibetan origin who contended that authorities were not applying the Indian Citizenship Act in his case for procuring for the Indian passport.

Mr Wangyal pressed for a direction that despite being a registered voter, his application for an Indian passport was rejected on the ground that though born in India in 1970, he was of Tibetan descent.

Taking note of the issue raised in the petition and also by his counsel Abhay Gupta’s contention that he is on the verge of being thrown out of India as he does not have his passport, the court asked the authorities concerned, “How can they deny him (Wangyal) the passport.”

It observed that the petitioner already had his passport and it was for renewal. The court sought response of the external affairs ministry and department of immigration and passports and asked them to file their replies before August 22.

Mr Wangyal has sought necessary directions to the regional passport officer to consider Tibetan persons who are born in India on or before January 26, 1950, but before July 1, 1987 as Indian citizens by law.

He has submitted that he is currently “stateless” with no nationality or citizenship. “Petitioner is holding a Yellow Book or identification certificate which is treated as a travel document within the meaning of Section 4(2)(b) of the Passport Act, 1967,” the plea has said.