In a unique case of its kind, the Punjab-Haryana High Court has ordered the Government of India to consider the citizenship of a five-year-old girl.
The girl’s mother is an Indian, who got married in Pakistan. Later, after divorce, she returned to India. She has a five-year-old daughter, who is a Pakistani citizen due to being born in Pakistan. Along with this, the court has also ordered to consider extending the period of stay of the girl in India.
This case is related to Hadiya Afridi, a girl born to an Indian mother and Pakistani father, who is now facing uncertainty about her future.
The woman from Malerkotla had married a Pakistani
The girl Hadiya Afridi had filed a petition through her mother Gulfasha. In the petition, the central government was asked to be directed to extend the period of her stay in India. The petitioner’s mother is an Indian citizen hailing from Malerkotla, Punjab. She married a Pakistani citizen on 14 February 2019 according to Muslim customs. After marriage, both of them started living in Pakistan but the woman did not give up her Indian citizenship or passport and even today she is an Indian citizen.
The woman returned to India after divorce
However, this marriage was not successful and the father of the petitioner (minor) divorced her mother according to Muslim law. After this, the woman returned to India with her daughter. Since the petitioner (minor) was born in Pakistan, she is a Pakistani citizen but the petitioner is only a five-year-old girl and cannot survive without her mother. Meanwhile, the Pakistani father of the girl started trying to get her custody.
The petitioner (minor) through her mother had given a detailed application to the Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India on 31 January 2025. The main reason for filing the petition in this case was that no decision had been taken on this application till now. When the matter came up for hearing in the High Court, Additional Solicitor General of India Satyapal Jain said that if given adequate time, the concerned authorities would decide on this application. Taking into consideration the special circumstances of the case, Justice Kuldeep Tiwari, while disposing of the petition, directed the Central Government to consider this application with full sympathy and take appropriate decision within three months.
