The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has upheld a deportation order against two petitioners who voluntarily acquired Pakistani citizenship, thereby automatically terminating their Indian citizenship under Section 9 of the Citizenship Act, 1955. In a petition filed in 1990, the couple—originally from Srinagar—argued that their status as Pakistani citizens was involuntary, citing historical circumstances. However, Justice Sindhu Sharma rejected these claims, noting that both had willingly obtained Pakistani passports and residential permits and had never submitted valid applications for Indian citizenship. Citing precedents like Izhar Ahmad Khan v. Union of India (1962) and Union of India v. Pranav Srinivasan (2024), the court affirmed that the voluntary acquisition of foreign citizenship leads to automatic loss of Indian citizenship. As a result, their stay in Srinagar—based solely on expired residential permits—was deemed unlawful, and the deportation order was upheld.

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