10. Deprivation of citizenship
(1) A citizen of India who is such by naturalisation or by virtue only of clause (c) of article 5 of the Constitution or by registration otherwise than under clause (b)(ii) of article 6 of the Constitution or clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 5 of this Act, shall cease to be a citizen of India, if he is deprived of that citizenship by an order of the Central Government under this section.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Central Government may, by order, deprive any such citizen of Indian citizenship, if it is satisfied that
(a) the registration or certificate of naturalisation was obtained by means of fraud, false representation or the concealment of any material fact; or
(b) that citizen has shown himself by act or speech to be disloyal or disaffected towards the Constitution of India as by law established; or
(c) that citizen has, during any war in which India may be engaged unlawfully traded or communicated with an enemy or been engaged, in or associated with, any business that was to his knowledge carried on in such manner as to assist an enemy in that war; or
(d) that citizen has, within five years after registration or naturalisation, been sentenced in any country to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years; or
(e) that citizen has been ordinarily resident out of India for a continuous period of seven years, and during that period, has neither been at any time a student of any educational institution in a country outside India or in the service of a Government in India or of an international organisation of which India is a member, nor registered annually in the prescribed manner at an Indian consulate his intention to retain his citizenship of India.
(3) The Central Government shall not deprive a person of citizenship under this section unless it is satisfied that it is not conducive to the public good that that person should continue to be a citizen of India.
(4) Before making an order under this section, the Central Government shall give the person against whom the order is proposed to be made notice in writing informing him of the ground on which it is proposed to be made and, if the order is proposed to be made on any of the grounds specified in sub-section (2) other than clause (e) thereof, of his right, upon making application therefor in the prescribed manner, to have his case referred to a committee of inquiry under this section.
(5) If the order is proposed to be made against a person on any of the grounds specified in sub-section (2) other than clause (e) thereof and that person so applies in the prescribed manner, the Central Government shall, and in any other case it may, refer the case to a Committee of Inquiry consisting of a chairman (being a person who has for at least ten years held a judicial office) and two other members appointed by the Central Government in this behalf.
(6) The Committee of Inquiry shall, on such reference, hold the inquiry in such manner as may be prescribed and submit its report to the Central Government; and the Central Government shall ordinarily be guided by such report in making an order under this section.
Recent application: The Union home ministry on 20 November 2019 cancelled the citizenship of Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLA Chennamaneni Ramesh on grounds that he had not fulfilled the stipulated norms while obtaining the Indian citizenship in 2009 when he was a German passport holder. An order to this effect was issued by Secretary, Border Management of the MHA, who is the competent authority. “Under section 10 of the Citizenship Act 1955, Ramesh Chennamaneni ceases to be a Citizen of India,” the 13-page order said.
