Following a dispute over whether an Indian passport proves citizenship or serves only as a travel document, the Madras High Court examined the case of a 44-year-old man born in Sri Lanka, raised in India, and living in the United States since 2014. He holds an Indian passport but now risks being declared stateless.
Justice Mohammed Shaffiq heard his writ petition and ordered the Indian Embassy in Washington DC to suspend until July 22, 2026 a notice requiring him to surrender the passport within 10 days. The court also directed the Ministry of External Affairs to submit a detailed counter affidavit by that date.
Senior counsel told the court the petitioner was born in Colombo on April 26, 1982. His family moved to Pudukottai in Tamil Nadu in 1983 after fleeing civil unrest. He completed schooling and college education in Tamil Nadu, earning an engineering degree in 2003. He obtained an Indian passport in 2004 using available identity documents, stating he lacked a Sri Lankan birth certificate at the time.
The petitioner worked in Chennai and Puducherry for a decade before moving to the United States in 2014 on an H-1B visa. In 2024 he obtained and authenticated his Sri Lankan birth certificate. He disclosed this to US immigration authorities and received a Green Card in 2025 listing Sri Lanka as his birthplace.
When renewing his Indian passport at the Washington embassy, he submitted the birth certificate and requested correction of his place of birth. The embassy renewed the passport but later issued a notice to surrender it and explain why it should not be impounded or lead to prosecution under the Passports Act.
The petitioner asked the Madras High Court to quash the notice and grant nine months to obtain Sri Lankan citizenship, assuring he would surrender the Indian passport once he secures valid travel documents.
