Last month, senior officials of the MInistry of External Affairs were quoted by the media as saying that the passport their colleagues issue every day is only a travel document. Apparently it does not constitute proof of Indian citizenship. This revelation has set the proverbial cat among the pigeons, when crores of people are being asked to prove that they are eligible to vote in the parliamentary and state assembly elections. Even though less than 10% of the citizens of India hold passports, those who have it do not own it, despite paying through their nose for it, as every passport is boldly marked: "This passport is the property of the Government of India". Section 17 of The Passports Act, 1967 states: " A passport or travel document issued under this Act shall in all times remain the property of the Central Government."
Since last year, the Election Commission of India (ECI) which has been conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in various phases, has categorically stated that an Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC) is also not conclusive proof of Indian citizenship.
Further, the document issued in multiple avatars or downloadable from the UIDAI website which contains one's Aadhaar number also clearly states: "Aadhaar is proof of identity, not citizenship or date of birth (DoB)." Section 9 of The Aadhaar (Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 says: "The Aadhaar number or the authentication thereof shall not, by itself, confer any right of, or be proof of, citizenship or domicile in respect of an Aadhaar number holder." Although Aadhaar was allowed by the Hon. Supreme Court of India as the 12th document that may be produced as the evidence of the identity and proof of address of an individual seeking enumeration under the SIR, it is certainly not proof of citizenship even though almost the entire citizenry is numbered and databsed under Aadhaar.
The RTI Interventions
So as a person seeking to comply with the SIR enumeration requirements for oneself and one's family (none of us are on the benchmark 2002 voter lists anywhere in the country even though we have cast our vote in every election) I filed an online RTI application each with the Union Ministries of External Affairs, Law and Justice and Home Affairs with the following identical queries on 25 June, 2026 (click here, here and here):
"I would like to obtain the following information under the RTI Act, 2005:
1) The name or title of every document which according to the Government of India ordinarily constitutes proof of citizenship of India that is Bharat, for the purpose of Part-II of the Constitution of India, read with Section 3 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, as amended from time to time,
2) The designation of the authority who is competent to issue every official document referred to at paragraph no. (1) above,
3) The name or title of every official document which according to the Government of India constitutes incontrovertible proof of citizenship of India that is Bharat, for the purpose of Part -II of the Constitution of India, read with Section 3 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, as amended from time to time, and 4) The designation of the authority who is competent to issue every official document referred to at paragraph no. (3) above."
The RTI Responses
The Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) simply transferred the RTI application to the Home Ministry within four days (click here). The CPIO of the Law Ministry transferred the RTI application to the Home Ministry within eight days (click here). Both ministries washed their hands off a simple RTI application as if the queries were none of their business.
On 15 July, 2026, the CPIO of the Home Ministry uploaded an online reply on the Union Government's RTI Portal, stating as follows (click here):
"Reply :- It is informed that under the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005, only such information as is available and existing and held by the public authority or is under control of the public authority can be provided. The CPIO is not supposed to create information that is not a part of the record. CPIO is also not required to interpret information or furnish replies to hypothetical questions. Similarly, redressal of grievance, reasons for non-compliance of rules/contesting the actions of the respondent public authority are outside the purview of the Act. Further, it is to inform that Citizenship of India is governed under the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship Rules, 2009 made thereunder.The copies of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship Rules,2009 are available on MHA website at URL https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/"
Why are these replies problematic?
The action taken by MEA's CPIO implies that while they may issue passports to us under The Passports Act, 1967 they cannot vouch for the truth of the citizenship status of the holders even though they record on the bio-page that the holders are Indian Nationals. The long title of the Passports Act reads as follows:
"An Act to provide for the issue of passports and travel documents, to regulate the departure from India of citizens of India and for other persons and for matters incidental or ancillary thereto."
Further Section 6(2)(a) of the Passports Act authorises an issuing authority to refuse to issue a passport to an applicant on the ground that he/she is not a citizen of India:
" (2) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the passport authority shall refuse to issue a passport or travel document for visiting any foreign country under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 5 on any one or more of the following grounds, and on no other ground, namely:
(a) that the applicant is not a citizen of India."
Strangely, despite these very clear links of the issuance of passports to citizenship status, the MEA will not say which documents constitute authentic and incontrovertible proof of citizenship of India.
The action taken by the Law Ministry's CPIO implies that while they are the go-to Ministry on all matters of law and legal interpretation under the Union Government, they do not want to take the responsibility of telling citizen taxpayers which documents constitute authentic and incontrovertible proof of citizenship status.
The Union Home Ministry is the nodal Ministry for the implementation of the Citizenship Act, 1955. Ironically, the administration of this Act is assigned to its Foreigners Division! The Citizenship Act only lays down the criteria for determining Indian citizenship in Sections 3-9. There is no mention of any official document that may be issued attesting to the citizenship status of an individual except when one acquires Indian citizenship through the statutory process of naturalisation (Sections 6 & 6B). Section 13 empowers the Central Government to issue a certificate of citizenship to a person if there is a doubt about his/her citizenship status. But this is not a common rule under which crores of citizens may demand issuance of citizenship certificates.
So in the 21st century when biometric and demographic data of people can be collected and stored on the Aadhaar of a 'cloud' and e-passports issued to 'allegedly' Indian nationals are equipped with electronic chips to store personal data of the holders, which documents constitute authentic and incontrovertible proof of Indian citizenship are themselves clouded in secrecy. No Ministry is willing to commit itself to an answer.
Readers may recall the ancient philosophical traditions that evolved on this sub-continent for arriving at the ultimate truth- through a process of negation of all posited arguments- neti, neti (Sanskrit for "not this", "not this"). That approach may work for carefree individuals who do not have to struggle with administrative authorities on a daily basis to prove their identity, date and place of birth, parentage, domicile etc. in order to obtain access to public services, welfare programmes, open bank accounts, apply for scholarships or passports or get married under civil procedures or simply seek hotel accommodation for a night's stay. Government officials in a democracy must not adopt such a negative approach to basic questions of the kind that we all are asking which are at the very foundation of our relationship with the State. To not tell the citizenry which documents constitute proof of citizenship and yet continue to demand that they prove they are Indian citizens, is a despotic attitude, defying all logic.
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*Transparency Advocator and RTI Activist
Bengaluru
Why are these replies problematic?
The action taken by MEA's CPIO implies that while they may issue passports to us under The Passports Act, 1967 they cannot vouch for the truth of the citizenship status of the holders even though they record on the bio-page that the holders are Indian Nationals. The long title of the Passports Act reads as follows:
"An Act to provide for the issue of passports and travel documents, to regulate the departure from India of citizens of India and for other persons and for matters incidental or ancillary thereto."
Further Section 6(2)(a) of the Passports Act authorises an issuing authority to refuse to issue a passport to an applicant on the ground that he/she is not a citizen of India:
" (2) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the passport authority shall refuse to issue a passport or travel document for visiting any foreign country under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 5 on any one or more of the following grounds, and on no other ground, namely:
(a) that the applicant is not a citizen of India."
Strangely, despite these very clear links of the issuance of passports to citizenship status, the MEA will not say which documents constitute authentic and incontrovertible proof of citizenship of India.
The action taken by the Law Ministry's CPIO implies that while they are the go-to Ministry on all matters of law and legal interpretation under the Union Government, they do not want to take the responsibility of telling citizen taxpayers which documents constitute authentic and incontrovertible proof of citizenship status.
The Union Home Ministry is the nodal Ministry for the implementation of the Citizenship Act, 1955. Ironically, the administration of this Act is assigned to its Foreigners Division! The Citizenship Act only lays down the criteria for determining Indian citizenship in Sections 3-9. There is no mention of any official document that may be issued attesting to the citizenship status of an individual except when one acquires Indian citizenship through the statutory process of naturalisation (Sections 6 & 6B). Section 13 empowers the Central Government to issue a certificate of citizenship to a person if there is a doubt about his/her citizenship status. But this is not a common rule under which crores of citizens may demand issuance of citizenship certificates.
So in the 21st century when biometric and demographic data of people can be collected and stored on the Aadhaar of a 'cloud' and e-passports issued to 'allegedly' Indian nationals are equipped with electronic chips to store personal data of the holders, which documents constitute authentic and incontrovertible proof of Indian citizenship are themselves clouded in secrecy. No Ministry is willing to commit itself to an answer.
Readers may recall the ancient philosophical traditions that evolved on this sub-continent for arriving at the ultimate truth- through a process of negation of all posited arguments- neti, neti (Sanskrit for "not this", "not this"). That approach may work for carefree individuals who do not have to struggle with administrative authorities on a daily basis to prove their identity, date and place of birth, parentage, domicile etc. in order to obtain access to public services, welfare programmes, open bank accounts, apply for scholarships or passports or get married under civil procedures or simply seek hotel accommodation for a night's stay. Government officials in a democracy must not adopt such a negative approach to basic questions of the kind that we all are asking which are at the very foundation of our relationship with the State. To not tell the citizenry which documents constitute proof of citizenship and yet continue to demand that they prove they are Indian citizens, is a despotic attitude, defying all logic.
---
*Transparency Advocator and RTI Activist
Bengaluru
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