Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court held that a person’s Aadhaar, voter identity card, Permanent Account Number (PAN), and bank account are not conclusive proof of Indian citizenship, while hearing Nasir’s case, who was detained and branded as Bangladeshi.
The division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md Shabbar Rashidi said Nasir and his cousin, Suman Molla, were given multiple chances to prove that the detainee was an Indian citizen by birth.
According to a Times of India report, Suman claimed that Nasir’s father died in 1980 and he helped raise Nasir. However, the court pointed that it was inclined to disbelieve the claim as Nasir was older than Suman by eight years.
The bench said both Nasir and Suman did not arrive with “clean hands.” While Suman said he was Nasir’s cousin when questioned by the police, he later claimed to be Nasir’s uncle in court.
Both parents dead, but burial site unknown
The court permitted Suman’s lawyer to contact Nasir, currently held at the Lalgola detention centre, to determine his mother’s whereabouts. Nasir said that both his parents were deceased and buried, though he could not identify the burial site. The court noted that a DNA test could have resolved the matter if Nasir could specify the exact location.
On the first day of the hearing, the state’s counsel told the bench that Nasir reportedly admitted in custody that he was a Bangladeshi national who had illegally entered India several years ago.
The court declined to rule on whether a statement made while in detention holds the same legal consequences as one made to police officers in custody.
“Even if we are to apply the principle that an admission made in the custody of the police should be discarded, nonetheless, the onus of establishing citizenship remains with the detainee,” the bench held.
As Nasir was unable to produce his birth certificate either, Suman, on his behalf, submitted a voter card, Aadhaar card, PAN card and a United Bank of India passbook.
“A voter identity card is not conclusive proof of Indian citizenship. It is evidence of the detainee’s enrolment on electoral rolls,” the court said, observing that Nasir’s name was removed from the electoral roll after Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
“Aadhaar, too, cannot by itself be conclusive proof of Indian citizenship,” the court said, stating the same about PAN and the bank account.
