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1963 (7) TMI 35 - SC - Companies LawWhether the State Trading Corporation, a company registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1956, is a citizen within the meaning of article 19 of the Constitution and can ask for the enforcement of fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens under the said article? Whether the State Trading Corporation is, notwithstanding the formality of incorporation under the Indian Companies Act, 1956, in substance a department and organ of the Government of India with the entirety of its capital contributed by Government and can it claim to enforce fundamental rights under Part III of the Constitution against the State as denned in article 12 thereof ? Held that:- We cannot accept the argument that there can be citizens of this country who are neither to be found within the four corners of Part II of the Constitution or within the four corners of the Citizenship Act. We are of opinion that these two provisions must be exhaustive of the citizens of this country, Part II dealing with citizens on the date the Constitution came into force and the Citizenship Act dealing with citizens thereafter. We must, therefore, hold that these two provisions are completely exhaustive of the citizens of this country and these citizens can only be natural persons. The fact that corporations may be nationals of the country for purposes international law will not make them citizens of this country for purposes of municipal law or the Constitution. Nor do we think that the word " citizen " used in article 19 of the Constitution was used in a different sense from that in which it was used in Part II of the Constitution. The first question, therefore, must be answered in the negative. In view of this answer, we do not consider it necessary to answer the second question as that would have arisen only if the first question had been answered in the affirmative.
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