The Supreme Court (SC) has issued an interim order stopping issue of citizenship by descent to the children of parents who got citizenship by birth through the committee formed under Jitendra Narayan Dev in 1997.
The citizenship certificates distributed by the Dev committee were later revoked by the SC and the government distributed citizenship by descent through a one-time arrangement after that.
A joint bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana and Justice Purushottam Bhandari hearing a petition filed by senior advocate Borna Bahadur Karki has issued the interim order stopping distribution of citizenship by descent to the children of parents whose citizenship certificates were already revoked by the Apex Court.
A one-man committee was formed under Dev to endorse citizenship certificates when Lokendra Bahadur Chand was the prime minister and Bam Dev Gautam the home minister. Around 34,000 persons were granted citizenship by birth on the basis of that committee's recommendation.
Advocate Bal Krishna Neupane had immediately moved the SC against distribution of citizenship certificates by the Dev committee. A special bench of the SC four years later had revoked the citizenship certificates distributed by the Dev committee stating that those issued by staffers who are not under the chief district officer cannot be valid and instructed the government to correct the record books. The SC had also directed the government to distribute citizenship certificates only on the basis of Constitutional and prevailing laws.
The government formed after the Janaandolan II in 2006 amended the Constitution and made a one-time arrangement of granting citizenship by birth to any person was born in Nepal before mid-April 1990, and has permanent domicile and been continuously resident in Nepal throughout his life. Around 190,000 persons received citizenship by birth as per that arrangement.
Even those whose citizenship certificates were granted by the Dev committee, and were later revoked, would have been eligible to receive citizenship through the one-time arrangement if they met the criteria.
The interim Constitution promulgated after that mentioned that children of those who have citizenship by birth would be eligible for citizenship by descent if both the father and mother were Nepali citizens.
But the laws made before the interim Constitution did not have provision specifying how children of those with citizenship by birth would get citizenship.
The Khila Raj Regmi government formed after the first Constituent Assembly, that also acted as parliament, was dissolved then brought an ordinance in absence of parliament to grant citizenship to the children of those with citizenship by birth. But the second Constituent Assembly, that again acted as parliament, did not pass the ordinance.
The Constitution promulgated in 2015 again mentioned that the children of those who have citizenship by birth would be eligible for citizenship by descent if both the father and mother are Nepali citizens.
But the children of those with citizenship by birth have not got citizenship certificates despite the Constitution allowing so as the subsequent governments did not bring any law to that regard after the ordinance brought by the Regmi government became void.
The SC issued multiple orders instructing the government to provide citizenship to the children of those with citizenship by birth when some individuals moved the court. But not everyone can move the SC and almost all the children of those with citizenship by birth have not received citizenship.
The current government has prepared the citizenship bill including the provision of citizenship for children of those who have citizenship by birth but it has been stuck in the parliament for over eight months in lack of consensus over other provisions about citizenship.
The Home Ministry in March issued a circular instructing the district administration offices across the country to provide citizenship by descent to children of those who have citizenship by birth if both the father and mother were Nepali citizens as per the Constitution and multiple SC orders.
Neupane, who has now become senior advocate, again moved the SC seeking an interim order to stop issue of citizenship certificates on the basis of the Home Ministry circular. But the SC did not issue the interim order reasoning that the Home Ministry was trying to implement the Constitution.
Senior advocate Karki again moved the SC after that claiming that the government did not revoke the citizenship certificates issued by the Dev committee despite the SC's instruction to do so.
Karki claimed that the government was issuing citizenship by descent to children of even those who had citizenship by birth granted by the Dev committee after the Home Ministry's circular.
CJ Rana and Justice Bhandari conducting second hearing on Karki's petition on Friday has ordered the government to not issue citizenship by descent to children of those who had citizenship by birth granted by the Dev committee already revoked by the SC almost two decades ago.
The interim order issued on Friday has asked the government to not issue citizenship by descent to children if they come with citizenship certificates of their parents granted by the Dev committee.
