The Gauhati High Court has held that Permanent Account Number cards and voter ID cards alone cannot establish citizenship unless supported by the records used to issue them.
They rely primarily on documents submitted by persons to establish their family’s residency in Assam or India before 1971.
Those declared foreigners by the tribunals have the option to appeal the decision before the High Court or the Supreme Court.
The woman had argued before the High Court that the tribunal had not properly considered her documents.
The High Court therefore dismissed her petition and upheld the foreigners tribunal’s decision.
The Gauhati High Court has held that Permanent Account Number cards and voter ID cards alone cannot establish citizenship unless supported by the records used to issue them.
A division bench of Justices Kalyan Rai Surana and Susmita Phukan Khaund made the observation on November 5, while dismissing a petition filed by a woman challenging a tribunal order that had declared her a foreigner who entered India in March 1971.
The court rejected at least 13 documents Kulchan Begum had submitted as proof, including linkage documents from the 1966 voter rolls and certificate of the Guwahati Municipal Board.
The bench found that Begum had failed to establish her links to her claimed father and grandparents through reliable evidence.
Begum had also failed to prove that they had continuously lived in Assam, as required under the 1955 Citizenship Act, the judgement noted.
The woman had claimed that she was born in Assam on April 25, 1977. To establish her citizenship, she submitted electoral rolls from 1966 and 1970 listing her claimed grandparents, along with her father’s permanent account card and voter ID, her own voter ID, a ration card and an acknowledgement receipt for her National Register of Citizens application.
She also contended that her father was an Indian citizen whose name appeared in electoral records. She claimed that he had contested the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections and served as a councillor of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation.
However, the Foreigners Tribunal had rejected her claim, finding that she had failed to establish her relationship with her claimed father.
The foreigners tribunals in Assam are quasi-judicial bodies that adjudicate on matters of citizenship based on lineage and a 1971 cut-off date. They rely primarily on documents submitted by persons to establish their family’s residency in Assam or India before 1971.
Those declared foreigners by the tribunals have the option to appeal the decision before the High Court or the Supreme Court.
Foreigners’ tribunals have been accused of arbitrariness and bias , and declaring persons foreigners on the basis of minor spelling mistakes, a lack of documents or lapses in memory.
The woman had argued before the High Court that the tribunal had not properly considered her documents. She also said that her previous lawyer had advised her incorrectly that the evidence submitted was sufficient to establish her citizenship. She sought to have the case sent back to the tribunal so she could present additional witnesses, including her parents and other family members.
The High Court rejected the argument, noting that she had been given several opportunities to submit further evidence before the tribunal but had failed to do so. It said that the claim of incorrect legal advice appeared to be an “after thought”.
On the documents submitted, the High Court said that permanent account cards and Electoral Photo Identity Cards were issued on the basis of self-declarations without formal verification by the Income Tax Department or the Election Commission.
“Therefore, unless the records supplementing the PAN Card and EPIC are proved, the said exhibited documents cannot be accepted as a proof of citizenship of India,” the bench said.
It also held that her claimed father’s alleged participation in parliamentary and state polls, and his tenure as a municipal councillor, did not by themselves establish that she was his daughter.
The High Court therefore dismissed her petition and upheld the foreigners tribunal’s decision.
The court also revoked the interim bail granted to her in 2022.
The Supreme Court and different High Courts have, over the years, held that documents such as Aadhaar card , voter identity card , PAN card and a certificate issued by the Gram Panchayat Secretary , as well as ownership of a bank account or property , are not evidence of citizenship.
There is no single document that proves Indian citizenship. Only foreign citizens who take up Indian citizenship are granted actual citizenship certificates. Persons born in India do not have any such document.
Written by Sara Varghese. Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.
Also read: Why experts contest Assam CM’s use of 1950 law to justify forcing out people into Bangladesh
