Post
by mehrinu » Thu Jan 24, 2013 2:33 pm
I am in the same situation.
The law on this issue is not 100% settled. The law on state subjects in J&K is based on the Maharaja's decrees on the state subject issue dating back to the 1920s (i.e. prior to the enactment of the J&K Constitution). The J&K Constitution tells us who is a state subject at the date of commencement of the Constitution, but it does not tell us anything about who may become a state subject after that date and how state subject status can be lost.
There is a famous High Court judgment on this issue (the Sawhney case) in which the High Court set out some general principles of state subject law:
- as the J&K Legislature has not passed any Act to define who is a state subject (despite having power to do so under the J&K Constitution), the question of who is or is not a state subject involves looking at the original Maharaja's decrees
- the decrees themselves do not provide for the termination of state subject status (except in one case where a female state subject ceases to be permanently resident in J&K)
- therefore, the acquisition of foreign citizenship by itself will not deprive a state subject of that status because there is no legal provision to that effect and the Courts will not imply such a provision given the drastic consequences
Overall, the balance of legal opinion is that a state subject who gives up or loses Indian nationality does not cease to be a state subject.
Also - you should note that it is only acquisition of land by sale etc. that requires one to be a state subject. Inheritance of land is not restricted only to state subjects. Hence, a non-state subject can inherit (as opposed to purchasing) land in J&K.