Bombay High Court
ANDREW STEPHEN DUARTE OLIVEIRAversusREGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICER AND 2 ORS.
- Disposal
- Disposed of
Holding
The petitioner is deemed an Indian citizen under the 1962 Citizenship Order, and the passport officer’s order refusing the passport is quashed.
Summary
The petitioner, born in Uganda in 1964, applied for an Indian passport which was refused by the Regional Passport Officer on the ground that his Indian citizenship was not proven. The petitioner submitted additional evidence, including his parents' marriage register showing both grandparents were natives of Goa born before the 1961 annexation, and a birth certificate authenticated by the Ugandan government. The court examined the Goa, Daman and Diu (Citizenship) Order, 1962, which deems anyone whose parents or grandparents were born in Goa before 20 December 1961 to be an Indian citizen. Relying on this order and the authenticity of the documents, the court held that the petitioner is a citizen of India and the passport officer’s refusal was invalid. Consequently, the court quashed the impugned order and directed the petitioner to make a fresh passport application with the submitted documents within a week, after which the officer must decide within three weeks.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is deemed an Indian citizen under the Goa, Daman and Diu (Citizenship) Order, 1962.
- Whether the refusal to grant a passport under Section 6(2)(a) of the Passport Act, 1967 was justified in the absence of conclusive proof of citizenship.
- Whether the documents produced (marriage register and foreign birth certificate) are authentic and sufficient to establish citizenship.
Legislation cited
- Goa, Daman and Diu (Citizenship) Order, 1962
- Passport Act, 1967 — s. 5, 6(2)(a)
Subjects
- Indian citizenship
- Passport Act
- Section 6(2)(a)
- Goa Citizenship Order
- Proof of citizenship
- Quashing of order
- Fresh passport application
Judgment
904-WP-317-2026.DOC
2026:BHC-GOA:1665-DB
Suchitra
IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY AT GOA
WRIT PETITION NO.317/2026
ANDREW STEPHEN DUARTE
OLIVEIRA, Aged about 61 years, R.o
H.No.46/2, Firgulem, Opp. Mallaya
Enterprises, Aquem Baixo, Navelim, South … PETITIONER
Goa, 403707.
Versus
1. REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICER
Regional Passport Oice Goa Passport Bhavan
EDC complex Patto, Panjim, Goa.
2. MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Original Passport Oice Panaji, Goa.
3. UNION OF INDIA Represented by
Secretary Ministry of external Afairs PSP
division Patiala House Annex Tilak Marg,
New Delhi 110001. … RESPONDENTS
Mr C. A. Coutinho, Senior Advocate with Mr Ivan Santimano,
Advocate for the Petitioner.
Mr Somnath Karpe, CGSC with Ms S. Vaigankar, Advocate for the
Respondents.
CORAM: VALMIKI MENEZES &
AMIT S. JAMSANDEKAR, JJ.
DATED: 19th AUGUST 2026
ORAL JUDGMENT: (Per Valmiki Menezes, J.)
1. he Petitioner has impugned an order dated 07.05.2025
passed by the Regional Passport Oicer, Panaji refusing to grant
Page 1 of 4
19th August 2026
904-WP-317-2026.DOC
the Petitioner an Indian Passport and rejecting his application
under Section 6(2)(a) of the Passport Act, 1967.
2. he Petition has been opposed by Mr Somnath karpe
appearing for the Respondents, supporting the impugned order,
mainly on the ground that the Petitioner has not produced any
proof of the fact that either of his parents were born in Goa, and
in fact the material produced before the Passport Oicer suggests
that the Petitioner having been born in Uganda, was not entitled
to hold an Indian Passport as his Indian Citizenship has not been
proved.
3. Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith at the request of
and with the consent of the learned counsel for the Parties
4. We have gone through the Petition and considered the
material that was placed before the Passport Oicer. In addition,
whilst hearing this Petition, additional documents were produced
before us by the Petitioner. Amongst these documents, the
Petitioner has produced an extract from the Marriage Register
“Registo de Casamento Canonico”, which is issued by the Civil
Registrar cum Sub-Registrar, Salcete, Margao, Goa, in which the
marriage of the Petitioner’s parents was registered. In this
document, the Petitioner’s paternal grand parents are recorded as
being the natives of Quela (Kavlem), in Ponda Taluka, Goa. he
Petitioner’s father was aged 25 and mother was aged 21 on the
date of registration of the marriage at Margao and they were both
born in the State of Goa, obviously prior to 19.12.1961, which is
the date when Goa was annexed into the Indian Union. In
Page 2 of 4
19th August 2026
904-WP-317-2026.DOC
addition, the Petitioner, has produced his birth certiicate issued
by the Registrar General of Births and Deaths, Tororo
Municipality in Uganda, where the Petitioner was born on
03.05.1964. he Birth Certiicate records the Petitioner’s full
name and the names of his parents, the father is stated to be
“Portuguese” and mother is stated to be “Indian”. Obviously
from this document, considering that the parents were residents
of Uganda as on the date of Goa’s liberation, the father was
considered Portuguese, though the Marriage Certiicate clearly
records that Petitioner’s grandfather was a native of Quela
(Kavlem), in Ponda Taluka, Goa and Petitioner’s father was born
in Uganda but was a resident of Perish of Taligao in Goa as on
22.04.1956 which is prior to the liberation.
5. Also produced on record is a correspondence between the
Indian High Commission at Kampala, Uganda and the Ministry
of Foreign Afairs of Uganda which records and conirms the
birth registration of the Petitioner who was born in Tororo,
Uganda on 03.05.1964. his document authenticates the
Petitioner’s birth certiicate, and considering that Uganda is not a
Hague Convention, the only manner in which the documents
could be authenticated is by the Government of that country
authenticating it. he Birth Certiicate has therefore to be
considered as an authentic document.
6. Under the Goa, Daman and Diu (Citizenship) Order, 1962
issued on 28.03.1962 by the Government of India, every person
who or either whose parents or any of whose grant parents was
born before 20th day of December 1961 in the territory of Goa
Page 3 of 4
19th August 2026
904-WP-317-2026.DOC
now comprised in the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu
shall be deemed to have become the citizen of India on that day.
Considering the mandate of Citizenship Order, the Petitioner’s
mother was born in Goa and so were both his grand parents as
recorded in the Marriage Certiicate of the Petitioner’s parents.
he Petitioner was born in Tororo, Uganda, but to grand parents
and a mother who were born in India. Obviously therefore,
Petitioner’s citizenship is from India and no other nation.
7. It is brought to our notice that the Marriage Certiicate of
the Petitioner’s parents was not produced before the Passport
Oicer at the relevant time and the Passport Oicer has passed
his order in the absence of absolute proof of the Petitioner’s
citizenship. Considering these circumstances, we quash and set
aside the impugned order dated 07.05.2025 of the Passport
Oicer and direct that the Petitioner shall make a fresh
application with all these documents within a period of one week
from today after which the Passport Oicer shall consider the
documents and pass orders under Section 5 of the Passport Act,
within a period of three weeks therefrom, without being
inluenced by any previous orders that may have been passed and
after considering the speciic observations made by us on the
question of citizenship in this Order.
8. he Petition stands disposed of. Rule is made absolute in
the above terms.
AMIT S. JAMSANDEKAR, J. VALMIKI MENEZES, J.
Signed by: SUCHITRA NANDAN Page 4 of 4
SINGBAL 19th August 2026
Designation: Personal Assistant
Date: 20/08/2026 10:37:51
Checking your session…