New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre on a petition questioning the policy of granting dual citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) who migrated from India and acquired citizenship of foreign country other than Pakistan and Bangladesh.

A Bench consisting of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta issued notice on a petition filed by India-born K.N.A. Farooqi, who acquired Pakistan citizenship, challenging the policy announced on December 2, 2005.

Counsel's contention

His counsel contended that the policy should be extended to all those who migrated from India and acquired foreign citizenship.

Mr. Farooqi said the impugned policy granted `Overseas Citizenship of India' (OCI), commonly known as dual citizenship, to PIOs who would be eligible for grant of the OCI as long as their home countries allowed dual citizenship in some form or the other under the local laws.

Under the scheme, a foreign national, who was eligible to become a citizen of India after January 26, 1950, was eligible for registration as an OCI.

Born in Lucknow

He said he was born in Lucknow in 1934 and migrated to Chittagong in Pakistan in 1952. He got married in 1966 to a person from Lucknow and they had been living in Karachi since 1971.

He said his paternal and maternal in-laws and other blood relatives were all permanent residents of Lucknow and Delhi.

He said though he wanted to avail himself of the OCI benefit he could not get it as it was not applicable to citizens of Pakistan and Bangladesh who were of Indian origin.

``Could not be treated differently''

He contended that all those who chose to be citizens of India as on January 26, 1950 were eligible to become PIOs and just because one went to Pakistan and got Pakistan citizenship, he could not be treated differently.

The OCI policy was discriminatory, he said.

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