20-year gap in voter lists costs Assam woman her citizenship: Why Gauhati High Court upheld her foreign national status

Justices Sanjay Kumar Medhi and Pranjal Das said there is an inordinate and unexplained gap of about 20 years from 1965 to 1985.

The 1971 cut-off date in Assam refers to March 25, 1971, which is the official deadline for determining Indian citizenship in the state according to the historic 1985 Assam Accord. Anyone who cannot prove they entered Assam before this date is considered an illegal immigrant.

‘Petitioner is not old rustic woman’

• As regards the documentary evidence, including the voters list, we find that a claim has been made that in the voters list of 1965, the name of the father is listed.
• In the next voters list of the year 1971, however, the name of the father is not there, and the name of the projected mother appears along with another person, whose age is 25 years. It is contended that the person is the uncle.
• The voters’ lists of 1989, 2005, and 2013 have not been exhibited and therefore, are not relevant.
• The exhibited voters’ list is from the year 1997, which contains the name of the petitioner, her parents, and one brother.
• The projected uncle of the petitioner had adduced evidence; it is trite that oral evidence alone, which is not supported by convincing documentary evidence, will not discharge the burden cast to a proceedee under Section 9 of the Act.
• The HSLC admit card of the petitioner, though sought to be proved, the same becomes highly doubtful, since the petitioner, in her cross-examination, has stated that she has forgotten how to read.
• It may be mentioned that the petitioner is not an old rustic woman but a literate lady who claims to have appeared in the HSLC examination in the year 1996.
• The sale deed and the Jamabandi of the years 1967 and 1931 cannot be construed as linked documents.

Case of declared foreign national and aftermath

The case originated from a reference made by the Superintendent of Police (B), Nangaon, leading to proceedings, where in December, 2018, the tribunal rendered an opinion declaring the petitioner a foreigner.

The tribunal, after considering the facts and circumstances and taking into account the provisions of Section 9 of the Foreigners’ Act, 1946, had come to a finding that the petitioner, as the opposite party, had failed to discharge the burden cast upon her, and accordingly, the opinion was rendered declaring the petitioner to be a foreign national post March 25, 1971.

The petitioner subsequently challenged this order under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking the court’s extraordinary jurisdiction.

Appearing for the petitioner, advocate A Verma submitted that the voters list of 1965 contains the names of her grandmother and father, and the next voters list relied upon is of the year 1971, containing the names of her uncle and mother. The next voters’ list is from the year 1977, which, however, was not exhibited.

He argued that the voters’ list of 1985 had been exhibited, containing the name of the father of the petitioner. He continued that certain other voters’ lists of 1989, 2005, and 2013 have been referred to, which, however, were not exhibited.