Foreigner cannot claim electoral rights reserved for citizens, says HC

Foreigner cannot claim electoral rights reserved for citizens, says HC

Citizenship is not merely a formal entry in a document; It forms the legal bond from which political rights and civic obligations arose, says Madurai Bench of Madras High Court

B.Tilak Chandar

MADURAI. 07.09.2026

A foreign national cannot claim electoral rights reserved by law for citizens merely because his/her name has erroneously or otherwise continued to remain in an electoral roll, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has said. The court was hearing a petition filed by Jeya Ananthan, who was born in Kuttam in Tirunelveli district in 1986.

He was an Indian citizen by birth. His father was doing business in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In 2003, his father fell ill and was unable to manage the business by himself.

The petitioner proceeded to Colombo to assist him. In 2005, the petitioner’s father entrusted the business to the petitioner and returned to India, and died in 2014. The petitioner participated in his father’s final rites. He got married in 2018 and now resides in Colombo with his wife and son, and has acquired Sri Lankan citizenship.

In April 2026, the petitioner came to India along with his wife and son to attend to his mother who underwent a surgical procedure. Then, he found that his name continued to be in the electoral roll. He cast his vote in the Tamil Nadu Assembly election. A criminal case was registered against him. During the course of investigation, his passport, Overseas Citizen of India card and mobile phone were seized. The articles were subsequently returned to him, subject to the condition that he should appear before the competent authority as and when required. The petitioner filed the petition seeking a direction to the authorities to permit him to travel to Colombo.

Justice L. Victoria Gowri said a person claiming Sri Lankan citizenship exercised his voting right in an election here and thereafter sought a direction permitting him to leave India.

The freedom to travel abroad was an important facet of personal liberty. Nevertheless, such freedom was not absolute and might be regulated by a procedure established by law, particularly when the person concerned was facing a criminal investigation, the court said.

Elections constitute the institutional expression of the sovereignty of the people. The sanctity of an electoral roll and the lawful exercise of the franchise are indispensable to the legitimacy of representative government. A foreign national could not claim electoral rights reserved for citizens merely because his/her name continued to remain in the electoral roll, the court said.

Citizenship was not merely a formal entry in a document. It formed the legal bond from which political rights and civic obligations arose. Franchise was among the most solemn of those political rights. Its exercise by a person not qualified under law warranted a fair and effective investigation. At the same time, the investigation must proceed within the bounds of law, respecting the petitioner’s presumption of innocence and personal liberty, the court said and dismissed the petition.