The issue of proving citizenship in Assam is once again in the headlines. It is reported that a person had presented 15 documents to prove his Indian citizenship. Despite this he could not prove his citizenship. The Gauhati High Court upheld the decision of the Foreigners Tribunal, which had declared the person a foreigner. The court did not consider those 15 documents sufficient.
The bench of Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Shamima Jahan rejected the man’s petition.
The court said that the petitioner could not prove his Indian citizenship under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act 1946. Let us tell you that according to this section, the person who is accused of being a foreigner, has to prove himself as an Indian citizen. The petitioner failed to do so. According to media reports, the petitioner is a daily wage labourer. He has been living in Assam for the last several years.
Everything rejected from school certificate to PAN, EPIC
He presented all the evidence including school certificate, PAN card, voter ID card to prove his Indian citizenship. But the court did not accept even one and declared him a foreigner. The court rejected all the documents presented by the petitioner. For this, the court also gave reasons as to why that document was rejected. Regarding his (petitioner’s) PAN card and voter card, the court said that it does not prove citizenship. The court also rejected his school certificate, land documents and NRC document of 1951. The court said that what was mentioned in it was not legally correct.
The man gave 15 proofs to prove his citizenship
- Copy of 1951 NRC of petitioner’s father
- Copy of 1951 NRC in the name of the petitioner’s father, grandparents and other family members
- Copy of 1966 voter list in the name of petitioner’s grandparents
- Copy of the voter list of the year 1970 in the names of the petitioner’s father, grandparents and other family members.
- Original land purchase deed issued on 12.09.1973 in the name of the petitioner’s grandfather.
- Copy of the voter list of the year 1979 in the names of the parents, grandparents and other family members of the petitioner.
- Copy of voter list of 1985 in the name of parents and other family members of the petitioner
- Copy of the voter list of the year 1989 in the names of the petitioner’s parents, uncle and other family members
- Copy of voter list of year 1997 in the name of petitioner’s parents and elder brother
- Copy of voter list of year 2005 in the name of parents and other family members of the petitioner
- Copy of voter list of year 2013 in the name of petitioner’s parents and other family members
- Copy of voter list of year 2015 in the name of petitioner’s parents and other family members
- Hashdoba Zonal High School Certificate of 2017
- EPIC of the petitioner
- PAN card of the petitioner
Born in 1988 in Ghugudoba, Assam
Let us tell you that the petitioner was born on 1 May 1988 in Ghugudoba, Assam. He was also brought up there. Later he went to Hashdoba. His family’s name is continuously registered in the voter list. The names of his father, mother and grandfather are spelled differently in the documents, but they all point to the same person, so this should not cast any doubt on his claim of being an Indian.
The court did not even accept the father’s testimony
But the court did not listen to the petitioner. The court did not even accept the father’s testimony. The court said that oral testimony cannot be relied upon in matters like proving citizenship. This should be proved from the record. There was a mistake in the father’s date of birth in some of the petitioner’s documents, while his name was not correct in some of his voter ID cards. According to the Indian Express report, the petitioner’s lawyer said that due to some minor mistake in the names of his father and grandfather in different documents, the court declared him a foreigner, whereas such mistakes are common. But this is not a valid way to deny citizenship.
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