15 documents not enough to prove citizenship: Assam man declared foreigner by HC
The petitioner submitted his Voter ID, PAN card, school certificate, and a land purchase deed of his grandfather in 1973 to claim that he is an Indian citizen by birth.
The Gauhati High Court has upheld a Foreigners Tribunal’s decision of declaring a daily wage labourer in Assam as “foreigner” despite the man producing 15 documents, including land papers, PAN card, and Voter ID.
The judgment comes after the Union government recently clarified that holding a passport is not proof of Indian citizenship.
In February 2019, Aminul Hoque was declared a foreigner by Foreigners Tribunal No. 4 in Kamrup district, Assam. However, he challenged the decision in the Gauhati High Court.
Also read: Is India heading towards nationwide citizenship register?
A Division Bench of Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Shamima Jahan dismissed Hoque’s petition on June 30.
What HC said
The 38-year-old petitioner produced 15 documents and told the court that his grandparents and his parents lived in Assam. He produced 1951 National Register of Citizens (NRC) featuring his family members. He also submitted his Voter ID, PAN card, school certificate, and a land purchase deed of his grandfather in 1973 to claim that he is an Indian citizen by birth.
The name of his father, along with his grandparents, step-grandmother, and other family members, had been recorded in the NRC of 1951 at Charai Khasara village in Goalpara district.
The court, in its order, said, “…though the petitioner had exhibited 15 (fifteen) documents as exhibits, the same does not appear to help the petitioner to establish that he has been able to discharge his burden as required under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1964 to prove that he is not a foreigner but an Indian Citizen.”
The judgment read, “The court finds no material to hold that the opinion assailed in this writ petition is bad on facts or in law. The learned counsel for the petitioner could not show that the said opinion was perverse on any count whatsoever. Therefore, this challenge fails and consequently, this writ petition is dismissed.”
Another case: Assam man to be deported
Meanwhile, in another case, Assam's Biswanath district magistrate has issued an order to deport a person declared a foreigner to Bangladesh under the 'Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950'.
The order, issued by District Magistrate Karabi Saikia Karan, stated that according to a report submitted by the superintendent of police (border), Kayam Ansari, a resident of Kherbari village in Sonitpur district, was declared a Bangladeshi citizen and a foreigner by the Foreigners' Tribunal.
The declared foreigner has been kept at the Matia transit camp in Goalpara district since his arrest on May 28, 2025 and currently, no cases, writ petitions, or other legal proceedings are pending against him in any court.
The order, issued on Thursday, stated that no legal impediment exists to his deportation, and Ansari is directed to leave Assam and proceed to Bangladesh via either the Sribhumi, Dhubri or South Salmara border within 24 hours of receiving the order.