The Supreme Court of Nepal dismissed a petition filed in the court demanding right for dual citizenship. On Wednesday, the Court quashed a petition filed by Non-Resident Nepali demanding an order to revoke the clause of Citizenship Act 2007 which bars to issue dual citizenship.

A full benched headed by acting chief justice Dipak Raj Joshi consisting of justices Om Prakash Mishra, Cholendra Sumsher JB Rana, Dipak Kumar Karki and Kedar Prasad Chalise quashed the demand of petitioners to have Nepali citizenship holding current citizenship distributed by country of residence.

Govinda Belbase, a Nepali origin of British citizen, filed a petition in Supreme Court to nullify the clause 10 of Citizenship Act 2006.

This clause bars to secure dual citizenship. According to a clause 10, anyone wishing to secure Nepali citizenship needs to denounce the old citizenship.

The court said Nepali Citizenship certificate cannot be issued until the relinquishing the earlier citizenship of country of residence.

This order concluded a decade long debate over the demand of dual citizenship for Non-Resident Nepali. Assistant spokesperson of Supreme Court Nagendera Kalakheti confirmed that the decision quashed the petition. According to Kalakheti, the court’s decision said that there is no need to issue order as per the demand of petitioner.

After the court’s verdict, the door in securing Nepali citizenship without denouncing the existing is closed forever. The court will release the full decisions public with basis and cause to quash the petition.