Md. Ajmal Haque @ Azmol Haque v. The Union of India and 6 Ors

ORDER Date : 16.05.2023 (AM Bujor Barua, J)

Heard Mr. JM Sulaiman, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Ms. L Devi, learned counsel for the respondents no. 1 and 5, being the authorities under the Union of India and NRC respectively, Mr. G Sarma, learned counsel for the respondents no. 2 and 6 being the authorities under the Home Department of the Government of Assam, Mr. TR Gogoi, learned counsel for the respondents no. 3 being the Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup(M) and Mr. AI Ali, learned counsel for the respondent no. 4 being the Election Commission of India. Page No.# 3/4

¶2The petitioner Ajmal Haque had been referred to the Foreigners' Tribunal No. 4, Kamrup(M) for rendering an opinion as to whether he is a person who entered the State of Assam on or after 25.03.1971, resulting in registration of F.T. Case No. FT(K(M)-4) 1395/17. The Tribunal rendered an opinion dated

30.11.2019 declaring the petitioner to be a foreigner.

¶3Being aggrieved, this writ petition is instituted.

¶4In the writ proceeding the petitioner relies on the voters' list of 1966 of village Kathuri PS Lakhipur in the Goalpara district which contains the name of Abdul Aziz, S/O Rahman Ali at Sl. No. 102. The petitioner also relies on the voters' list of 2011 of village Kathuri which contains the name of Abdul Aziz, S/O Rohom Ali Mollah at Sl. No. 1102 and that of Azmal Hoque, S/O Abdul Aziz at Sl. No. 1108 and both are shown to be residing in the same house no. 482. Accordingly, the petitioner claims that the burden under Section 9 of the Foreigners' Act, 1946 had been discharged to prove that he is a citizen inasmuch as the voters' list of 2011 shows that he is the son of Abdul Aziz and the name of Abdul Aziz appears in the voters' list of 1966 of the same village meaning thereby that he is a citizen.

¶5In view of the above, the matter is remanded back to examine the veracity and acceptability of the voters' lists of 1966 and 2011 of village Kathuri and thereafter, pass a reasoned order. The petitioner to produce the complete voters' lists of the intervening years between the year 1966 and 2011 in respect of village Kahturi for examination of the Tribunal. The respondents in the Home Department may make their own verification and submit a report before the Tribunal.

¶6The petitioner to appear before the Tribunal on 30.06.2023. Page No.# 4/4

¶7If the reasoned order is in favour of the petitioner, the same shall prevail over the opinion dated 30.11.2019 passed in F.T. Case No. FT(K(M)-4) 1395/17 and if against, consequence under the law is applicable to the petitioner.

¶8Till the reasoned order is passed, no coercive action be taken against the petitioner.

Send back the LCR. Writ petition stands disposed of in the above terms.

JUDGE JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010034202021 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/1393/2021o MD.oAJMALoHAQUEo@oAZMOLoHAQUEo S/O.oMD.oABDULoAZIZ,oVILL.oPUBoKATHURI,oP.O.oTAKIMARI,oP.S.o LAKHIPUR,oDIST.oGOALPARA,oASSAM,oINDIA,oPIN-783129. VERSUSo THEoUNIONoOFoINDIAoANDo6oORSo REP.oBYoTHEoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoINDIA,oMINISTRYoOFoHOMEo AFFAIRS,oNEWoDELHI-110001. 2:THEoSTATEoOFoASSAM oREP.oBYoTHEoCOMM.oANDoSECY.oTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oHOMEoDEPTT. oDISPUR oGHY.-06. 3:THEoDY.oCOMMISSIONER oKAMRUPo(M) oDIST.oKAMRUPo(M) oASSAM oPIN-781001. 4:THEoELECTIONoCOMMISSIONoOFoINDIA oNEWoDELHI-110001. 5:THEoSTATEoCOORDINATOR oNATIONALoREGISTERoOFoCITIZENS oASSAM Page No.# 2/4 GUWAHATI-781005. 6:THE SUPDT. OF POLICE (B0 KAMRUP (M) DIST. KAMRUP (M) ASSAM PIN-781006. 7:ABU BAKKAR SIDDIQUE ADV. FOREIGNERS TRIBUNAL NO.4 HEDAYETPUR KAMRUP (M) ASSAM GHY.-03 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR H R A CHOUDHURY Advocate for the Respondent : ASSTT.S.G.I. BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ACHINTYA MALLA BUJOR BARUA HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ROBIN PHUKAN