Malina Banik v. The Union of India and 5 Ors

ORDER

04.03.2024

¶1Mr. A.R. Sikdar, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. G. Sarma, learned counsel appearing for the respondent Nos. 2-5 as well as Mr. S.S. Roy, learned counsel for the respondent No.3. Mr. T. Pegu, learned counsel appears for the respondent No.4.

¶2The case of the petitioner is that in the voters list of 1997, the name of the petitioner was marked with the letter "D" and thereupon the petitioner has approached the concerned respondent authorities for removal of the tag "D" in his name from the voters list.

¶3As the concerned respondent authorities had failed to do so, the petitioner Page No.# 3/4 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.5 i.e., the Superintendent of Police (Border), Goalpara 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.5 to refer the case of the petitioner as regards the mark "D" in the voters list in respect to 36 Dudhnoi (ST) LAC, Goalpara, to a competent Foreigners Tribunal, Goalpara district for an appropriate adjudication as regards the status of the petitioner as "D" voter in the concerned voters list.

¶6Reference be made within a period of 2 (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.

¶7If 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 Page No.# 4/4 communicated to the petitioner.

¶8With the above directions and observations, the instant writ petition stands disposed of. JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010043152024 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/1230/2024o MALINAoBANIKo D/O-oLATEoHIRENDRAoCH.oDATTA,o W/O-oJEEVANoBANIK,o R/O-oVILLAGE-oKHARIZAoPAIKANoPARToIII,o P.OoANDoP.S-oKRISNAI,oDIST-oGOALPARA,oASSAM VERSUSo THEoUNIONoOFoINDIAoANDo5oORSo REP.oBYoTHEoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVToOFoINDIA,oMINISTRYoOFoHOMEo AFFAIRS,oSHASTRIoBHAWAN,oTILOKoMARG,oNEWoDELHI 2:THEoSTATEoOFoASSAM oREP.oBYoTHEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oPOLITICALoANDoHOMEoDEPARTMENT oDISPUR oGUWAHATI-6 3:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER oGOALPARA o P.SoANDoDIST-oGOALPARA oASSAM oPIN-783101 4:THEoELECTIONoOFFICER oGOALPARA o P.SoANDoDIST-oGOALPARA oASSAM oPIN-783101 Page No.# 2/4 5:THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE (B) GOALPARA P.S AND DIST- GOALPARA ASSAM PIN-783101 6:THE STATE COORDINATOR OF NATIONAL REGISTER OF CITIZENS ASSAM HOUSEFED COMPLEX 2ND FLOOR BANPHOOL NAGAR GUWAHATI-06 DIST- KAMRUP (M Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A R SIKDAR Advocate for the Respondent : DY.S.G.I. BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MICHAEL ZOTHANKHUMA