Untranslated Voter Lists and Unproved Marriage Documents Insufficient to Establish Citizenship Linkage Under Foreigners Act.

The petitioner, Ohema Bibi, challenged an opinion dated 20.06.2024 passed by the Foreigners Tribunal, Bongaigaon No. 2, which declared her a foreigner of the post-25.03.1971 stream

The petitioner claimed Indian citizenship by birth, asserting her forefathers were indigenous Goria Moria Assamese Muslims

She relied on the 1966 and 1970 Voters Lists of her grandparents, a 1987 Kabinnama (marriage deed), and various Voters Lists from 1989 to 2017 to establish her lineage

She also presented a land Jamabandi, a Gaon Panchayat Link Certificate, and oral testimony from her projected mother (DW-2)

The Tribunal rejected these documents due to discrepancies in age and lack of proper authentication

1. Whether the petitioner produced sufficient cogent and reliable evidence to discharge the burden of proof regarding her citizenship under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946.

2. Whether the translated copies of Voters Lists and unauthenticated certificates (Kabinnama, Link Certificate, and Jamabandi) are admissible as evidence to establish a link to pre-1971 ancestors.

The court applied Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, which places the burden of proving citizenship on the person claiming it

mere marking of a document does not dispense with the requirement of proving its contents according to law [LIC v. Rampal Singh Bisen (2010)]

translated copies of Voters Lists cannot be treated as evidence or substitute for certified copies [Isiran Nessa, WP(C) 2460/2016]

an Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) is not proof of citizenship without supporting foundational documents [Dayamoy Nath v. Union of India (2019)]

The court found that the petitioner failed to maintain a continuous "link" to her pre-1971 ancestors. While the 1966 and 1970 Voters Lists (Ext. A & B) were certified copies, the subsequent lists (1985–2017) were merely translated copies and thus inadmissible, creating a "break in the link"

The Kabinnama (Ext. D) and Link Certificate (Ext. O) were discarded because the issuing authorities were not examined to prove the contents, and the Link Certificate improperly featured the State Emblem in violation of the State Emblem of India Act, 2005

Additionally, the court noted fatal discrepancies in age; in the 1989 Voters List, the age difference between the petitioner and her projected mother (DW-2) was only 12 years, rendering the oral testimony unreliable

the writ petition was dismissed, and the Tribunal's opinion declaring the petitioner a foreigner was upheld. No interference was warranted, and the records were ordered to be returned to the Tribunal for consequential action