Hear the person in citizenship case: HC
It is to be remembered that citizenship is one of the most important rights of a person, said Gauhati high court.
The Gauhati high court has held that any questions about a person’s citizenship should be decided upon after hearing the person concerned instead of passing an ex-parte order.
A division bench of Justice N Kotishwar Singh and Justice Soumitra Saikia made the observation while passing an order this month on a petition filed by Rahima Khatun, a resident of Dhubri district of Assam, who was declared an illegal immigrant by a foreigners’ tribunal in June 2016.
“It is to be remembered that citizenship is one of the most important rights of a person. By virtue of citizenship, one becomes a member of a sovereign country and becomes entitled to various rights and privileges granted by law in that country,” said the order. “If any question arises about citizenship of a person, in our opinion, the same should be adjudicated as far as possible on the basis of merit and on hearing the person concerned,” it added.
Also Read | East India extremely vulnerable to climate change: Analysis
As per the Assam Accord of 1985, anyone who has been staying in the state prior to March 24, 1971, or can establish lineage to people residing on or before that date is considered as Indian citizen — a requirement also accepted for inclusion in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) updated in 2019.
Names of around 1.9 million people who failed to prove theirs or their ancestor’s residency in Assam on that date and those who were declared foreigners by foreigners’ tribunals (as well their relatives) were excluded from the NRC.
The HC found that though a notice was served by the tribunal to Khatun, her son appeared on her behalf without her knowledge. “Unfortunately, the petitioner’s son neglected to appear before the tribunal on various dates fixed by the tribunal resulting in passing of the ex-parte order. From the records, it is evident that the learned tribunal passed the order without hearing the petitioner,” the HC order of April 8 read. The court remanded the matter to the foreigners’ tribunal in Dhubri for reconsideration and directed Khatun to appear before it on or before May 5.
