Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has upheld the decision of a Foreigners Tribunal declaring an Assam resident a foreigner, ruling that he failed to legally establish his Indian citizenship despite producing 15 documents and oral testimony.

A Division Bench comprising Justices Kalyan Rai Surana and Shamima Jahan dismissed the petition filed by the daily wage labourer, observing that the documents submitted were either inadmissible in law or insufficient to prove his citizenship. The court held that the petitioner had failed to discharge the burden of proof mandated under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946.

According to the court order, the petitioner, born in 1988 and currently residing in rented accommodation near Guwahati, had produced copies of the 1951 National Register of Citizens (NRC) containing the names of his father and grandparents, electoral rolls from different years, a land deed executed by his grandfather in 1973, a school certificate, PAN card and Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC). His father also appeared before the Foreigners Tribunal to establish the family’s lineage.

However, both the Foreigners Tribunal and the High Court found that the documents did not establish a legally admissible link between the petitioner and his claimed ancestors. The court observed that merely producing legacy documents is not sufficient unless they are supported by valid and legally acceptable evidence connecting the individual to those ancestors.

Upholding the Tribunal’s findings, the High Court dismissed the petition, reaffirming that the burden of proving Indian citizenship rests with the person concerned under the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946.