Under which of the following conditions can a person be granted citizenship of India according to the provisions relating to birth, parentage, or ordinary residence?

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: 1, 2 and 3

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Citizenship in India can be acquired through various modes such as birth, descent, registration, and naturalisation. The original Constitution and subsequent laws specify conditions under which a person can be considered a citizen. This question presents three broad conditions related to birth in India, parentage in India, and ordinary residence in India, and asks which combination of these can provide a basis for granting citizenship.



Given Data / Assumptions:

  • Condition 1: A person is born in India.
  • Condition 2: Either of the person parents was born in India.
  • Condition 3: The person has been an ordinary resident of India for not less than five years.
  • The question asks which combination of these conditions can be used for granting citizenship under the general constitutional and legal framework.


Concept / Approach:
Under the Constitution and the Citizenship Act, citizenship can be acquired by birth (being born in India under certain periods and conditions), by descent (when parents were born in India or are citizens), and by naturalisation or registration (which usually requires a period of ordinary residence in India). Therefore, all three conditions mentioned in the question reflect recognised bases for citizenship. Although specific cut off dates and detailed requirements apply in practice, as a broad multiple choice concept question, the correct understanding is that each of the three conditions represents a valid pathway to citizenship.



Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Consider condition 1. The Constitution originally provided citizenship by birth for those born in India, subject to certain time based conditions later refined by law.Step 2: Consider condition 2. Citizenship by descent covers persons whose parents were born in India or are Indian citizens, again subject to legal conditions.Step 3: Consider condition 3. Citizenship by registration or naturalisation requires a period of ordinary residence in India, with five years often cited as the minimum period under certain categories.Step 4: Recognise that all three conditions describe recognised legal routes to becoming a citizen.Step 5: Select the option that includes 1, 2 and 3 as valid conditions.


Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, you can look at standard summaries of the Citizenship Act, which list the modes of acquiring citizenship. You will find separate headings for citizenship by birth, citizenship by descent, and citizenship by registration or naturalisation based on residence. Each of the three conditions in the question maps to one of these modes, confirming that all are legitimate pathways and that the combination 1, 2 and 3 is the correct answer in a conceptual sense.



Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Options that include only 1 and 2 or only 2 and 3 exclude one valid basis for citizenship and are therefore incomplete. The option suggesting that Supreme Court approval is necessary for each case is not in line with the normal legal process, which is administered by the executive authorities under the Citizenship Act, not directly by the Supreme Court. None of the above is wrong because the three conditions do in fact represent valid routes to citizenship.



Common Pitfalls:
Some learners focus heavily on recent changes in citizenship law and become uncertain about the basic traditional modes of citizenship, leading them to underestimate the breadth of the original provisions. Others may incorrectly assume that only one or two of the conditions are valid. To avoid confusion, it is helpful to remember that birth, descent, and residence based naturalisation are globally common ways of acquiring citizenship and are all recognised in Indian law in some form.



Final Answer:
1, 2 and 3

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