MUKHTAR AHMED VS GOVERNMENT OF BANGLADESH 34 DLR 1982

 

 Analysis of the Fact:

The petitioner became a domicile of East Pakistan in 1952. The domicile certificate was issued from Dacca and the petitioners remained in the territories of East Pakistan which now comprises Bangladesh. After the liberation of Bangladesh he swore an affidavit of allegation to Bangladesh in 1972 and he was a voter in the voter list prepared after liberation. He voted in the referendum held on 30^th May, 1977. He applied for a formal citizenship certificate on 17.03.1975 which had been refused by impugned memorandum informing him that the petitioner having filed an application to the International Committee of Red Cross had disqualified himself to be a citizen of Bangladesh and as such the impugned order could not be challenged.

Issue:

Whether the petitioner had abandoned his citizenship of Bangladesh by the positive act or otherwise disqualified him so as to be deprived of his citizenship?

Argument from the petitioner:

Not given in the DLR.

Argument from the Respondent:

Not given in the DLR Decision:

The notification in question was promulgated without any lawful authority.

Reasoning behind the decision:

The decision was taken on the following grounds:

 After the emergence of Bangladesh the petitioner became a citizen of Bangladesh by the operation of law and continued to be a citizen of Bangladesh.

 The impugned memorandum did not refer to any positive act. An application for going over abroad could not take away his citizenship. Bangladesh Citizenship Order P.O 149 enumerated various situations in which a person shall be deemed to be a citizen of Bangladesh. The petitioner was also a citizen according to that provision.

 He could not voluntarily renounce it or he could not be deprived of it if he had not incurred any disqualification.

 Provisions had been made by amending Bangladesh Citizenship Order,1972 by Ordinance No.VII of 1978 for double citizenship in some cases.

Principle:

Right of citizenship of a person does not lose mere filing of an application to go to a different country as per P.O 149 of 1972.

Importance of this case:

From the judgment of this case the different conditions of acquiring citizenship of Bangladesh under Bangladesh Citizenship Order,1972 came out and important notion of this case is that mere filing an application to go Pakistan does not indicate that someone rejects his allegiance to Bangladesh and shows his allegiance to Pakistan. On the other hand Double Citizenship is permitted by the Ordinance of 1978( Ordinance No. VII)