PANAJI: While Goans make a beeline for Portuguese passports in the hopes for a better future, a German woman, staying here for over 30 years now, has been running from pillar to post to obtain Indian citizenship.
Gabriele Stadtmueller, 54, has been residing in India from November 5, 1983 with multiple visa extensions. She owns a house in Assagao, purchased in 1996, after getting necessary clearances from the Reserve Bank of India. In 2011, she applied for Indian citizenship under section 6(1) of The Citizenship Act, but her plea was rejected by the additional district magistrate (ADM) on June 5, 2014.
Statdtmueller says she was denied citizenship because, in 2007, she had been framed in a case filed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. "I was acquitted in the case by the court of the special judge of Greater Bombay in 2009, but I believe the whole thing has contributed to my plea being refused," she said.
Soon after, she moved the high court of Bombay at Goa contending the June 2014 order on the ground that it was not passed in accordance with law. The petition stated that the district magistrate has limited authority and is empowered only to receive, acknowledge and forward the naturalization application to the state under the Indian Citizenship Act and has no authority vested upon him to reject any such application. On February 26, 2015 the Union ministry of home affairs dismissed her revised petition against the ADM's order.
Additional government advocate Pravin Faldessai said that in case the petitioner files a fresh application, it shall be considered in accordance with law.
TOI Goa News
Gabriele Stadtmueller, 54, has been residing in India from November 5, 1983 with multiple visa extensions. She owns a house in Assagao, purchased in 1996, after getting necessary clearances from the Reserve Bank of India. In 2011, she applied for Indian citizenship under section 6(1) of The Citizenship Act, but her plea was rejected by the additional district magistrate (ADM) on June 5, 2014.
Statdtmueller says she was denied citizenship because, in 2007, she had been framed in a case filed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. "I was acquitted in the case by the court of the special judge of Greater Bombay in 2009, but I believe the whole thing has contributed to my plea being refused," she said.
Soon after, she moved the high court of Bombay at Goa contending the June 2014 order on the ground that it was not passed in accordance with law. The petition stated that the district magistrate has limited authority and is empowered only to receive, acknowledge and forward the naturalization application to the state under the Indian Citizenship Act and has no authority vested upon him to reject any such application. On February 26, 2015 the Union ministry of home affairs dismissed her revised petition against the ADM's order.
Additional government advocate Pravin Faldessai said that in case the petitioner files a fresh application, it shall be considered in accordance with law.
TOI Goa News
No comments:
Post a Comment