CHENNAI: Holding that nationality alone cannot be used to deny protection against arbitrary state action, the Madras High Court has set aside the termination of a Sri Lankan Tamil refugee employed with the State Bank of India.
In an order dated January 23, Justice Hemant Chandangoudar allowed the writ petition filed by G Thirukalyanamalar, who was appointed in 2008 as an officer (marketing and recovery-rural) and continued in service uninterruptedly for nearly 17 years, including under interim protection granted by the court.
Her services were terminated in June 2013 after the bank found that she was a Sri Lankan national and not an Indian citizen as required under the recruitment notification. Challenging the termination, the petitioner contended that she was a registered Sri Lankan Tamil refugee with lawful residence in India and that the action was arbitrary and discriminatory.
Rejecting the bank’s objection on maintainability, the court held that while non-citizens cannot claim fundamental rights reserved exclusively for citizens under Articles 16 and 19, they are entitled to protection under Articles 14 and 21.
The judge observed that “a non-citizen is entitled to invoke the writ jurisdiction of this court when the state action is alleged to be arbitrary, unreasonable or discriminatory and results in violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.”
The court also noted that the petitioner had disclosed her place of birth as Colombo, and that the application form did not specifically seek details regarding citizenship. Observing that her residence stood regularised under the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025, the judge held that terminating her at this stage would be unfair and violative of Article 14.
Accordingly, the termination order was quashed, with the court clarifying that the ruling was confined to the peculiar facts of the case and should not be treated as a precedent.