Aparna Mondal@Aparna Bacher v. The Election Commission of India and 7 Ors

ORDER Date : 18.01.2023

Heard Mr. J. Abbas, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. A. Ali, learned standing counsel for the Election Commission of India, respondent nos.1, 3, 4, 5 and 6, Mr. R.K. Dubey, learned standing counsel for the Page No.# 3/4 respondent no.2 and Mr. R. Talukdar, learned Govt. Advocate appearing for the respondent nos.7 and 8.

¶2The case of the petitioner is that in the voters list of 2005 of No.23 Dhubri LAC, the name of the petitioner was marked with the letter "D" and thereupon the petitioner had approached the concerned respondent authorities for removal of the tag "D" in her name from the voters list.

¶3As the concerned respondent authorities had failed to do so, the petitioner is before this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for an appropriate direction that the letter "D" tagged with the name of the petitioner in the voters list be removed.

¶4Whether a person is a "D" voter or not is a matter of factual determination and the appropriate forum to do the same is the concerned Foreigners Tribunal. This Court in exercise of its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India would not have the competence to decide such a question which depends on the evidence that may be produced.

¶5In the circumstances, this Court therefore directs the respondent No.7 i.e., the Superintendent of Police (Border), Dhubri to verify as to whether the petitioner has already been referred to the concerned Foreigners Tribunal and if upon verification it is found that the petitioner has not been referred to the concerned Foreigners Tribunal, this Court further directs the said respondent No.7 to refer the case of the petitioner as regards the mark "D" in the voters list in respect to 23 No. Dhubri LAC to a competent Foreigners Tribunal, Dhubri district for an appropriate adjudication as regards the status of the petitioner as "D" voter in the concerned voters list. Reference be made within a period of 2 Page No.# 4/4

(two) months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order. Upon such reference being made, the petitioner may participate in such proceedings and establish her case.

¶6If the case of the petitioner, as per the records, had already been referred to the relevant Foreigners Tribunal there would be no requirement to make any further reference and the detailed information of the earlier reference be communicated to the petitioner.

¶7With the above directions and observations, the instant writ petition stands disposed of. JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010005922023 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/226/2023o APARNAoMONDAL@APARNAoBACHERo W/O-oPANKAJoKUMARoMANDAL,o R/O-oSASSOTOoBHAWAN,oHOTELoSAMRAToCAMPUS,oWARDoNO-9,oGTBo ROAD,oDHUNRI,o P.O,oP.SoANDoDIST-oDHUBRI,oASSAM,oPIN-783301 VERSUSo THEoELECTIONoCOMMISSIONoOFoINDIAoANDo7oORSo REP.oBYoTHEoCHIEFoELECTIONoCOMMISSIONERoOFoINDIA,oNIRVACHANo SADAN,oASHOKAoROAD,NEWoDELHI-110001 2:THEoSTATEoELECTIONoCOMMISSIONo oASSAM oREP.oBYoSTATEoELECTIONoCOMMISSIONERoOFoASAM oHOUSEFEDoCOMPLEX oGUWAHATI-06 3:THEoCHIEFoELECTORALoOFFICER oASSAMo oDISPUR oASSAM oGHY-06 4:THEoDISTRICToELECTIONoOFFICER oDHUBRI oP.O oP.SoANDoDIST-oDHUBRI o ASSAM oPIN-o783301 Page No.# 2/4 5:THE ELECTORAL REGISTRATION OFFICER 23 DHUBRI LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCY P.O P.S AND DIST- DHUBRI ASSAM PIN- 783301 6:THE ELECTORAL REGISTRATION OFFICER 29 BILASIPARA EAST CONSTITUENCY P.O- BILASIPARA DIST- DHUBRI ASSAM PIN-783348 7:THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE (B) DHUBRI P.O P.S AND DIST- DHUBRI ASSAM PIN-783301 8:THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DHUBRI P.O P.S AND DIST- DHUBRI ASSAM PIN-78330 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. J ABBAS Advocate for the Respondent : SC, ECI BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE KALYAN RAI SURANA