Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has upheld a Foreigners Tribunal’s decision declaring an Assam resident a foreigner, ruling that the documents and testimony presented by him were insufficient to establish his Indian citizenship under the law.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Shamima Jahan dismissed the petition, holding that the petitioner had failed to proof his citizenship claim in accordance with the Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, which places the responsibility of proving citizenship on the person concerned.
The petitioner had challenged the Foreigners Tribunal’s order by relying on 15 documents, including extracts from the 1951 National Register of Citizens (NRC), electoral rolls of different years, a school certificate, PAN card, Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC), and other official records. His father also appeared before the tribunal to testify in support of the family’s lineage.
However, the High Court observed that the evidence failed to establish a legally admissible and continuous link between the petitioner and the ancestors whose names appeared in the legacy documents. The Bench noted that producing multiple records alone does not satisfy the legal standard for proving citizenship unless the documents consistently establish the required family linkage.
After examining the tribunal’s findings, the court found no legal or procedural infirmity warranting judicial interference. It concluded that the petitioner had failed to prove his claim of Indian citizenship and dismissed the writ petition, thereby affirming the Foreigners Tribunal’s order.
The judgment reiterates that in proceedings before Foreigners Tribunals in Assam, the burden of proving citizenship lies entirely with the person facing the proceedings. It also underscores that the credibility, consistency, and legal admissibility of documentary evidence carry greater weight than the sheer number of documents produced.