Aminul Hoque Vs Union of India (Gauhati High Court)
The Gauhati High Court dismissed the writ petition challenging the opinion of the Foreigners Tribunal declaring the petitioner a foreigner. The principal issue was whether the petitioner had discharged the burden under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946 to establish that he was an Indian citizen through admissible and reliable evidence.
The petitioner relied on his written statement, oral evidence, and several documents including the NRC of 1951, multiple electoral rolls from 1966 to 2017, a land sale deed dated 12.09.1973, PAN Card, EPIC, and a school certificate to establish linkage with his projected ancestors. He also examined his projected father in support of his claim that the family had shifted villages over time due to river erosion and family separation.
The Foreigners Tribunal rejected the petitioner’s claim after finding significant deficiencies in the evidence. It held that the NRC extracts produced were computer-generated documents that had not been proved in accordance with law, the land sale deed did not establish linkage with the purchaser, the school certificate was not proved through its author, and the PAN Card and EPIC did not establish citizenship. The Tribunal also found inconsistencies in names, ages, villages of residence, and family linkage across the electoral rolls, ultimately concluding that the petitioner had failed to establish continuity of lineage or discharge the statutory burden under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946.
