Recently, High court rejected the petition of a woman who declared as a foreigner by the officials in the Assam by stating that land revenue, bank account statements, Permanent Account Number is not enough to prove the citizenship in the Assam.
Jabeda begum, a woman who failed to prove her link with her projected parents and projected brother, the petition was dismissed by the court of justice Manojit Bhuyan and Justice Parthivjyoti Saikia.
The determination of citizenship in Assam is different from the other states as it is the only state where the NRC containing the names of the citizens were prepared in 1951 and was updated last year.
Last year in August, the updated NRC, which excluded 19 lakh applicants who applied for Citizenship. Accord of 1985, the updated NRC has its beginning in the Assam which was signed after 6 long years agitation against the illegal immigration from Bangladesh and set March 24, 1971, as the time for determining the citizenship in the state.
This is also resultant in the insertion of Section 6A in the Citizenship Act,1955, which includes that those who are Indians and illegal Migrants from Bangladesh and came to Assam before March 25, 1971, were considered as the citizens in the state. And it was also the same date when the process of NRC updation started.
To prove the citizenship for inclusion in NRC applicants had to give any of the 14 documents which were issued before March 24, 1971, which had either their names or their ancestors to prove their residence in Assam till that date.
These documents include1951 NRC, electoral rolls till March 24, 1971, land and tenancy records, citizenship certificate, permanent resident certificate, refugee registration certificate, passport, insurance policy, government-issued license or certificate, proof of employment, bank or post office accounts, birth certificate, education certificates or documents of court records or processes. ( Source-Hindustan Times)
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And further, two more supplementary documents were added but these were only applicable if the applicants have atleast one document from the above listed 14 documents. And these documents were- certificates issued by circle officer or gram panchayat secretary to married women migrating after marriage and ration card issued prior to March 24, 1971. And for those whose names is not a list of the 14 documents, they have to submit 8 different documents that can establish a relationship with their ancestors who have any of the 14 documents before March 24, 1971. And these documents include birth certificate, land records, examination certificates, bank, insurance police or post office records, a certificate issued by circle officer or gram panchayat secretary (in case of a married woman), name in the electoral roll, ration card.
But those applicants who did not have these documents were excluded from the list of the NRC. But these do not mean that they will be declared as non-citizens, they have the right to appeal in the foreigners’ tribunals, High court, and supreme court to prove their citizenship