Mayor Balen Shah Embroiled in Citizenship Controversy Over Surname Change from 'Sah' to 'Shah'

Birgunj. Senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and prospective Prime Ministerial candidate, Balendra Shah (Balen), has been drawn into a citizenship dispute. Questions have arisen because his citizenship initially listed his surname as 'Sah' but was later changed to 'Shah'.

It has been found that his surname was changed after he was elected Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. His citizenship obtained from Mahottari in 2063 BS mentions Balendra Sah. This citizenship was issued on Poush 9, 2063 BS by the then Administrative Officer Pradipkumar Niroula. However, in the copy of the citizenship obtained on Ashar 19, 2079 BS, after being elected Mayor of Kathmandu, 'Shah' was written instead of 'Sah'.

Shah, born in Ekdara of Mahottari district in Madhes, had his family move to Kathmandu. In the migration certificate, Balen's father also listed everyone's surname as Sah in the family details. The migration certificate issued by the office of Ward No. 9 of Kathmandu Metropolitan City also mentions the surname of everyone in Balen's family as Sah, which is commonly written in Madhes.

Not only this, but in the citizenship form submitted to the District Administration Office for a copy of the citizenship, Balen's late father, Ramnarayan Sah, also had his name written as Ramnarayan Sah Nepali according to the old citizenship.

However, the surname was changed in the citizenship issued by the District Administration Office Kathmandu on Mangsir 7, 2079 BS. In this, Ramnarayan Sah Nepali became 'Ramnarayan Shah'. In the copy of the citizenship issued on the same date, the mother's name is also written as Dhruvadevi Shah.

Although Dhruvadevi Sah was mentioned in the citizenships prior to that, even though the surname of everyone in Balen's family has now been changed to Shah, his elder brother's citizenship has not undergone that change.

Koushalendra Sah, mentioned in the citizenship issued from Mahottari, is still mentioned in his citizenship and certificate of kinship.

Even though everyone changed the surname in their citizenship while obtaining new copies after moving to Kathmandu, his elder brother Koushalendra obtained a copy of his citizenship in the name of Kaishalendra Sah on Mangsir 15, 2078 BS, according to his old citizenship.

What was written in the initial citizenship?

Balendra Shah's father is Ramnarayan Sah. It is found that Sah obtained a citizenship certificate from Ekdara, Mahottari on Shrawan 27, 2039 BS. His name in the citizenship is mentioned as Ramnarayan Sah Nepali. In this, Sah's father's name is written as Munilal Sah. Similarly, documents confirm that the initial citizenship of elder brother Koushalendra, mother Dhruvadevi, and Balen also mentioned the surname as Sah.

The citizenship mentioning the surname as 'Sah Nepali' is mentioned in the migration certificate issued by the office of Ward No.-9 of Kathmandu Metropolitan City on Kartik 8, 2076 BS. However, in the copies of citizenship obtained thereafter, the surname of everyone except Balen's elder brother Koushalendra has been found to be changed.

What are the legal provisions?

Section 12 of the Citizenship Act 2063 states that if it is proven that any Nepali citizen obtained a Nepali citizenship certificate by providing false information, the designated officer shall have the authority to revoke such citizenship certificate.

Section 17 of the same Act provides for the correction of details. It states, 'If any person wishes to correct minor errors in their Nepali citizenship certificate due to discrepancies in the surname or age or educational qualification mentioned in their certificate, they must submit an application to the required designated officer.'

However, the clarification states that for the purpose of this subsection, minor errors refer to details mentioned in the citizenship certificate such as the inclusion or omission of words like Kumari, Devi, Bahadur, Prasad, or differences in vowel signs (matras) or similar minor errors. According to Section 12, this provision does not seem applicable in the case of Balen and his parents.