HC judge says CAA equally applicable to SL Hindu Tamils

Chennai: Though Sri Lankan citizens were not covered under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the principles of the amended law were equally applicable to the Hindu Tamils of the Island Nation, Justice G R Swaminathan of the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) has observed. 

Passing directions on a petition seeking Indian citizenship filed by a woman born in India to Sri Lankan Tamil refugee parents in 1983, the judge said “One can take judicial notice of the fact that the Hindu Tamils of Sri Lanka were the primary victims of the racial strife.” 

Noting that the CAA permitted “persecuted minorities” from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to get Indian Citizenship, the judge said “though Sri Lanka does not fall within the said amendment, the very same principle is equally applicable. One can take judicial notice of the fact that the Hindu Tamils of Sri Lanka were the primary victims of the racial strife.” 

The petitioner S Abirami, who is staying in Tiruchi since birth, had applied for Indian citizenship but the State Government had declined to forward it to the Central Government. 

She has been in India all these years and did her schooling here. She was issued an Aadhaar Card. However, her efforts to obtain Indian citizenship had gone in vain which led to the filing of the present petition.

Pointing out that the petitioner was never a Sri Lankan citizen and consequently the question of “renouncing” it does not arise, the court said if her plea was not granted it would lead to her “statelessness”, a situation that must be avoided. 

Hence he directed the Tiruchi Collector to forward her application for citizenship to the State Government, which in turn shall forward it to the Central Government to take a call within 16 weeks.