The Gauhati High Court has upheld a Foreigners Tribunal decision declaring an Assam resident a foreigner, ruling that the man failed to legally establish his Indian citizenship despite submitting 15 documents and oral testimony. A Division Bench of Justices Kalyan Rai Surana and Shamima Jahan dismissed the daily wage labourer’s writ petition, finding the evidence either inadmissible under law or insufficient to meet the statutory burden of proof under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946.
The petitioner, born in 1988 and living in rented accommodation near Guwahati, had produced a range of documents to the tribunal. These included copies of the 1951 National Register of Citizens (NRC) listing his father and grandparents, several voter lists, a 1973 land deed executed by his grandfather, a 2017 school certificate, a PAN card and an Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC). His father also gave oral testimony to establish family lineage.
The High Court agreed with the tribunal that these materials did not establish a legally admissible link to the petitioner’s claimed ancestors. The court rejected the 1951 NRC extract as merely a computer-generated copy lacking the mandatory certification required under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act (now Section 63(4) of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023). It further noted that census records, including the 1951 NRC, are inadmissible as evidence under Section 15 of the Census Act, 1948.
The 2017 school certificate was also held unreliable because neither the issuing headmaster nor the school’s admission register was produced to verify it. The bench found inconsistencies in the voter lists and reiterated that oral testimony alone cannot establish citizenship without corroborating documentary evidence. During cross-examination, the petitioner’s father was identified as different from the individual named in one of the voter lists relied upon.
Concluding there was no legal infirmity in the tribunal’s findings, the High Court observed that the petitioner had not demonstrated any error in the appreciation of evidence and therefore dismissed the petition, affirming the tribunal’s declaration that he is a foreigner. The ruling underscores the strict evidentiary standards applied in citizenship disputes and the need for certified, verifiable documents to prove lineage and nationality.
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/assam/story/assam-man-fails-to-prove-citizenship-despite-submitting-15-documents-1417463-2026-07-02?utm_source=rssfeed
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Publish Date: 2026-07-02 10:12:00
