resident of Lamidanda VDC, Ward No. 02 of Dolakha
district and currently residing at Harisiddhi VDC,
Ward No. 09 of Lalitpur district. I was born on
12th November, 1992 and now I am 18 years old.
My mother is a Nepali citizen and she has already
obtained Nepali citizenship by descent. However,
even my mother does not know exactly about my
father and I have clearly mentioned this fact in the
application which I have submitted for obtaining
citizenship certificate. I have graduated SLC from
the Hindu Vidyapeeth, Balkumari, Lalitpur and as I
needed citizenship certificate and decided to obtain
citizenship from the name of my mother pursuant
to Section 3(1) of Nepal Citizenship Act, 2006.
Therefore, I applied to the Office of concerned VDC
on 25th July, 2010 which was verified on 28th July,
2010. Afterwards, I submitted an application form
pursuant to Rule 3(1) (3) of the Nepal Citizenship
Rules, 2006 to District Administration Office Dolkha
for obtaining citizenship certificate complying all
the necessary processes. However, the Chief District
Officer orally denied me the citizenship certificate
on the ground that I have no address and identity
of my father and returned the application form and
no action has yet been taken in this regard. Hence,
I have been deprived from the right to identity and
being forced to live as a stateless person in my own
country. Therefore, I have moved to this honored
Court for the enforcement of my right to obtain
citizenship.
birth place and relationship or a certificate of birth
registration.” After fulfillment of the said procedure
the oral order not to provide me citizenship in the
name of my mother has created the situation of
disappearance of my identity and has created such
a situation that forced me to remain as stateless for
whole of my life. Hence, I pray for the issuance of
mandamus and/or any other necessary order by the
honored Court to grant me citizenship in the name
of my mother and also to make interpretation in
case of others who are aggrieved like me.
Apart from our constitutional and legal provisions,
Article 15 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR), 1948 has provided that everyone has the
right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily
deprived of his nationality or denied the right to
change his nationality. Article 24 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 has
provided that every child shall be registered
immediately after birth and shall have a name; every
child has the right to acquire a nationality.
Moreover, Article 9(2) of the UN Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, 1979
has recognized that State parties shall grant women
equal rights with respect to the nationality of their
children. Article 7 of Child Rights Convention has
further specified that “The child should be registered
immediately after birth and shall have the right from
birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and
as far as possible the right to know and be cared for
by his parents.”
In the Article 22 of Interim Constitution of Nepal,
2007, under the heading of Rights of Child, Clause
(1) of the same Article has provide that “Every
child shall have the right to his or her identity and
name.” Likewise, all the clauses of the Article 13
have guaranteed the right to equality. In the Part 2,
Article 8(2) of the Constitution has clearly provided
that “Any person whose father or mother was a
citizen of Nepal at the time of his or her birth shall
be a Nepali citizen by descent.” Likewise, in Section
3 of Nepal Citizenship Act, 2006 under the heading
of ‘Acquisition of Nepali Citizenship by Descent’
it is laid down that: A person born at a time when
his/ her father or mother is a Nepali citizen, shall be
a Nepali citizen by descent” and has included both
father or mother while defining descent. The law
also has granted the right to the person to choose
from whose name to obtain citizenship.
The provisions of treaties and conventions
mentioned above have guaranteed the right to
confer citizenship to both men and women. Thus,
international treaties and conventions as well as our
constitutional and legal provisions have provided
the right to confer citizenship to mothers as well.
However, in practice, injustice has been done to
the person desiring to get identity from mother by
depriving him/her from identity and it has been
tried to make him/her stateless by presenting the
discriminatory definition of descent.
Issuing citizenship certificate from the name of
mother has been denied due to the patriarchal
mindset, opinion, values and conception and
impediment has been created by holding that
women do not come under descent. The second
and third periodic reports of CEDAW have made
conclusion and recommendation to Nepal to
abolish such a conception which Nepal has to
compulsorily abide by.
Rule 3(1) of Nepal Citizenship Rules, 2006 has
clearly stipulated that: “A citizen of Nepal, who
has completed the age of Sixteen years and intends
to obtain the certificate of citizenship of Nepal by
descent, has to make an application, in the format
referred to in Schedule-1, and accompanied by the
certificate of citizenship of Nepal of his or her father
or mother or relative within three generations of
his or her lineage and recommendation made by
the concerned Local Body setting out his or her
Nepal has accepted, without any reservation, the
obligations created by all of the above treaties and
conventions to which Nepal is a party and has
ratified. Section 9(1) of the Nepal Treaties Act, 1990
has clearly stated that the provisions of the treaty
which Nepal has ratified shall be enforceable as
46
Compilation of Selected Decisions of Supreme Court on
CITIZENSHIP and BIRTH REGISTRATION
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