HYDERABAD: In a relief to Vemulawada TRS MLA Chennamaneni Ramesh, the Hyderabad High Court on Friday suspended for six weeks the orders of the Union ministry of home affairs declaring Ramesh as not a citizen of India. The court wanted to have an in-depth hearing and directed the Centre to file a detailed counter affidavit and to place the entire record on the issue by January 24. Justice S V Bhatt passed the interim order on Ramesh’s petition against the Centre cancelling his Indian citizenship and rejecting his ‘review petition’.
The joint secretary in the ministry of home affairs, in his order on August 31, 2017, stated that Ramesh had obtained the certificate of Indian citizenship fraudulently by concealing crucial facts of his visits abroad during the last 12 months immediately preceding his application for Indian citizenship and held him guilty of suppression of facts Invoking Section 10(1) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, he declared that Ramesh ceased to be a citizen of India with effect from the date of issue of this order. All benefits/privileges being enjoyed by him as citizen of India shall stand withdrawn forthwith. Ramesh then filed a review petition which the ministry rejected. Then he moved the High Court.
Petitioner’s counsel Y Rama Rao said his client had got German citizenship in 1993 while working as a professor there. Based on a complaint by Adi Srinivas, an enquiry committee was constituted and it recommended to the home ministry cancellation of Ramesh’s Indian citizenship without considering relevant material. Assistant solicitor-general Lakshman said Ramesh had obtained Indian citizenship fraudulently by suppressing crucial material. In fact, he had not stayed in India throughout the period of 12 months preceding the date of making application for the Indian citizenship, he said.
V Ravi Kiran Rao, counsel for Adi Srinivas, said the petitioner had not stayed in India for 12 months continuously since applying for citizenship. The High Court cannot exercise its power under Article 226 of the Constitution in a case where false information was given by the petitioner, he argued. Justice Bhatt wanted to have an in-depth hearing and directed the Centre to file a detailed counter affidavit and place the entire record on the issue. While posting the matter to January 24 for further hearing, he suspended the impugned order for six weeks.