E-Paper
Give her another chance, says Gauhati high court on woman declared foreigner
The Gauhati high court observed that Rukiya Begum submitted a written statement asking for additional time to collect documents to prove her Indian citizenship but she wasn’t given proper opportunity during the Foreigners Tribunal’s proceeding in 2017.
SILCHAR: The Gauhati high court has allowed a declared foreigner to prove her Indian identity, setting aside a Foreigners Tribunal (FT) order in 2018.
48-year-old Rukiya Begum, a resident of Cachar district’s Sonai assembly constituency, was declared foreigner by FT-6 of Silchar on June 18, 2018 in an ex-parte (one sided judgement) order.
The high court has observed that Rukiya Begum submitted a written statement where she asked for additional time to collect documents but she wasn’t given proper opportunity during FT’s proceeding in 2017.
A case was registered against Rukiya Begum in 2016 and she received a notice from FT and appeared before court on September 9, 2017 for the first time. According to the FT-6 order, Rukiya Begum didn’t appear before court on three dates, 13.10.2017, 22.11.2017 and 07.12.2017 respectively, resulting in passing of the ex-parte order on 18.06.2018.
The FT-6 order was challenged in Gauhati high court by a group of lawyers headed by advocate O Laskar. A special bench including justices Kotiswar Singh and Malashri Nandi heard the case and issued an order on March 3, 2022.
The high court order said, “The counsel for Rukiya Begum claims that she remained absent before the Tribunal (Court) on fixed dates as she was unable to collect all the required documents. On 07.12.2017, the Tribunal proceeded against her. She later filed an application praying to set aside the said order and to give her an opportunity to produce her documents. Tribunal rejected this on 18.06.2018 and declared her a foreigner and a doubtful voter.”
The order further said, “We have perused the order passed by the Foreigners Tribunal 6th, Silchar in Case No.1669/16, which clearly indicates that the petitioner had appeared before the Tribunal and sought time further. The tribunal did not consider her request and passed the impugned ex-parte order. Technically the order of the Tribunal may not be faulted with, however, we are aware that this is a very important proceeding. Dealing with the citizenship of a person and as such, a more liberal view may be adopted about the timeline for concluding the proceeding. “
The high court has observed that Rukiya Begum’s Father Abdul Motin’s name appeared in voters list of 1965, 1970, 1997 and 2010. His name also appeared in the final national register of citizens (NRC) draft.
The judges said, “We have seen the voters lists of 1965, 1970, 1997 & 2010 annexed by the petitioner in the present petition where the name of her father, Abdul Matin appeared as a resident of 13 No. Electoral Circle-Dholai, village Didarkush 1st Part, P.S. Sonai, Sub-Division, Silchar, Cachar. The petitioner has also submitted the NRC document of her father Abdul Matin and one certificate issued by the president of Didarkush Gaon Panchayat, Motinagar where she was shown as the daughter of Abdul Motin. We are of the view that if the aforesaid documents can be proved by the petitioner, she can make a legitimate claim that she is an Indian and not a foreigner.”
The high court has asked FT-6 of Silchar to hear Rukiya Begum’s case on April 6, 2022. If she fails to appear before court on that day, the 2018 FT order will prevail and she’ll remain declared foreigner further.
“We are of the opinion that the petitioner may be given another opportunity to prove that she is an Indian and not a foreigner. we allow this petition by setting aside the impugned opinion dated 18.06.2018 passed by the Foreigners Tribunal No.6th, Silchar. The petitioner shall accordingly appear before the concerned Foreigners Tribunal No.6th, on 06.04.2022 and thereafter, the Tribunal will proceed with the matter in accordance with law,” the justices said.
The high court has asked Rukiya Begum to remain on bail by furnishing a bail bond of ₹5,000 with one local surety. The superintendent of police (Border) of Cachar district has been asked to capture fingerprints and biomertrics of iris of the petitioner.
