The court was asked whether the claimant, Ms Deelavathi Bondada, is a British citizen by descent.
Held: She was a British Citizen by descent. However: ‘the stance taken on behalf of the Home Secretary on other occasions during the period from early December 2012 onwards, and throughout these proceedings, is a stance which cannot be described as honourable. From early December 2012 onwards, both before and after the letter of 29 August 2013, untenable objections were taken to Deelavathi’s claim. The stance taken in those objections refused to engage with compelling DNA evidence. The result was that this stance effectively made an accusation that Deelavathi’s mother has lied about the parentage of her children for more than 60 years. At a very late stage in the present proceedings the Home Secretary accepted the DNA evidence. Nevertheless the stance taken on behalf of the Home Secretary when rejecting Deelavathi’s claim has, without a shred of evidence to support it, continued to make the same effective accusation. The conduct of the UK government in this regard has been grotesque.’
Walker J
[2015] EWHC 2661 (Admin)
Bailii
Administrative
Updated: 04 January 2022; Ref: scu.553492