RASHID HASAN ROOMI V. UNION OF INDIA AIR 1967 ALL 154
FACTS
- Rashid Hasan Roomi was detained in district jail, Fatehpur under the Foreigners' Internment Order, 1962.
- Rashid Hasan Roomi was born in India to Indian parents. His father migrated to Pakistan in 1948, leaving Roomi, a minor, behind in India.
- Roomi continued to reside in India, engaging in agricultural activities and practicing as a registered Homoeopathic Doctor
- Roomi has resided in India, participated in local elections, and held the office of Chairman of the Town Area Committee of Kara Jahanabad.
- Roomi obtained an India-Pakistan passport before 1961 but was denied another one in 1961.
- Rashid was arrested on October 13, 1965, under the Foreigners' Internment Order, 1962, on the assumption that he was a Pakistani national due to his father's nationality.
- By this petition under Section 491 Code of Criminal Procedure a challenge is raised before the Allahabad High Court to the validity of the petitioners’ detention.
ISSUE
- Whether Rashid Hasan Roomi, given his background and activities in India, is an Indian citizen.
- Whether his detention under the Foreigners' Internment Order, 1962, was lawful.
RULE
- Foreigners' Internment Order, 1962: Paragraph 3 of this order (as amended) includes provisions for detaining individuals whose parents or grandparents were citizens of countries at war with India.
- An individual's domicile is not automatically tied to that of their parents if they are deserted or left behind. The cazse highlights the importance of considering the individual's circumstances and residence in determining citizenship.
HELD
- The court differentiated this case from those where minors migrated with their parents. Here, Roomi was left in India by his migrating father, thus retaining his domicile in India.
- Legal Precedents:
- Allah Bandi v. Govt. of Union of India, 1954 All LJ 156: AIR 1954 All 456) the two minor married girls who happened to be with their parents at the time of the disturbances of 1947 also went to Pakistan when their parents left for that country while their husbands who were citizens of India continued to reside in India. It was held that the girls being minors could not legally change their domicile of origin and shift to Pakistan with the intention of settling there in the absence of their husbands and therefore it could not be said that they migrated to Pakistan when they left India with their parents.
- Karimunnisa v. State of Madhya Pradesh (AIR 1955 Nag 6): The Domicile of a minor follows the father if they migrate together.
- State v. Abdul Hamid (AIR 1957 Punj 86) and Mohammad Umar v. State (AIR 1961 Orissa 150): Minors migrated with their fathers, thus changing domicile.
- Suggested that a minor’s domicile need not change if deserted by a father.
- The detention was based on an erroneous assumption that Roomi was a Pakistani national, not on the grounds that his father was a Pakistani.
- Rashid Hasan Roomi is a citizen of India based on his birth in India, long-term residence, and active participation in Indian civic life.
- The detention order was based on a mistaken belief that Roomi was a Pakistani national, rendering it invalid.
- The court directed Rashid Hasan Roomi to be set at liberty immediately, finding his detention invalid and unlawful.
COMMENTARY
- It is held that two elements are required to constitute migration - (a) a mental desire to go to another country, and (b) the physical departure for that country. A mere desire at one time to leave India is not sufficient to constitute migration if there is no physical departure from India (State v. Abdul Sattar, AIR 1978 Gau 48).
- Persons entering India as refugees are deemed to be foreigners (Shishuwala Pal v. Union of India, AIR 1989 MP 254).