The Gauhati High Court has ruled that Permanent Account Number cards and Electoral Photo Identity Cards cannot independently establish Indian citizenship unless the records used to issue them are also presented. A division bench comprising Justices Kalyan Rai Surana and Susmita Phukan Khaund made this observation on November 5, according to Scroll and LiveLaw. The court issued the ruling while dismissing petitions challenging decisions by Foreigners Tribunals in Assam, which adjudicate citizenship based on lineage and residency prior to March 1971.
In the first case, the court examined the petition of Kulchan Begum, who had submitted 13 documents, including 1966 voter rolls and a Guwahati Municipal Board certificate, to prove her status. Scroll reported that the bench found Begum failed to demonstrate reliable links to her claimed father and grandparents. The court noted that her father’s alleged political career and municipal service did not automatically prove their parent-child relationship. Consequently, the High Court upheld the tribunal’s declaration that she was a foreigner who entered India in March 1971 and revoked her interim bail from 2022.
LiveLaw reported on a second case involving a male petitioner who relied on 1966 and 1970 voter lists containing his grandfather’s name, along with a birth certificate and Jamabandi revenue records. The court observed that the petitioner had not explained his relationship with other individuals named in those records. A village revenue functionary, or Gaonburah, testified to the family’s residency but admitted he lacked documentary authority for his certificate. The bench also noted discrepancies in the petitioner’s recorded age across different documents, leading to the dismissal of his writ petition.
The court emphasized that PAN cards and voter IDs are issued based on self-declarations without formal verification by the Income Tax Department or Election Commission. As stated in the judgment, unless the records supplementing these documents are proved, they cannot be accepted as proof of citizenship. This approach aligns with previous rulings by the Supreme Court and other High Courts, which have held that documents like Aadhaar cards or bank accounts are not definitive evidence of citizenship. Under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, the burden remains on the individual to prove they are an Indian citizen rather than a foreigner.