Following the Supreme Court's ruling that will result in 30,000 citizenship certificates being annulled, a member of the royal family is finding it difficult to obtain a citizenship certificate. Princess Sitasma, the youngest daughter of Dhirendra Shah, is in a tight spot.

Sources in the district administrative office say her application does not meet the guidelines set down TOissue her a citizenship certificate. Last Thursday, a lawyer representing the princess took her application form to the office and returned empty handed. The reason for the rejection: The applicant's father's name was not mentioned on the application form as is required. The lawyer said that since the father was dead, he could not come to verify himself, and the applicant's mother couldn't come either. The district administration asked the Home Ministry for guidance. The Home Ministry replied saying that since the father's name was not mentioned, it would not be possible to issue a citizenship certificate.
The lawyer then argued that in the case of Princess Puja too (the princess' sister), the father's name had been omitted from the application, and it had not stopped her being issued a citizenship certificate. Princess Puja was issued a citizenship when Usha Nepal was the Chief District Officer of Kathmandu district. The Home Ministry replied THAT had been a wrong decision.

The lawyer then asked the ministry was what should be mentioned on the application form if the father was an ordinary citizen, the mother a princess and the daughter also a princess. This one was a hard one to figure out, and at the end there was simply no decision taken, and Princess Sitasma was not issued a citizenship certificate. The application form does not have a slot for writing down the mother's name.