Marina Begum @ Marina Khatun v. The Union of India and 6 Ors

ORDER

26.07.2024 Heard Mr. S. Islam, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. S.S. Roy, learned counsel for the respondent Nos. 1 & 7; Mr. A.I. Ali, learned counsel for the respondent Nos. 2 & 6; Mr. S.R. Baruah, learned counsel for the respondent Nos. 3 & 4 and Mr. J. Payeng, learned counsel for the respondent No.5.

¶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 Page No.# 3/4 approached the concerned respondent authorities for removal of the tag "D" in her name from the voters list.

¶3The petitioner's counsel submits that the petitioner has also been referred to as Marina Khatun, Marina Begum and Marina Bibi in some documents. However, they are one and the same person.

¶4As 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.

¶5Whether 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.

¶6In the circumstances, this Court therefore directs the respondent No.5 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.5 to refer the case of the petitioner as regards the mark "D" in the voters list in respect to 28 No. Gossaigaon Legislative Assembly Constituency 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. Page No.# 4/4

¶7Reference 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.

¶8If 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.

¶9With the above directions and observations, the instant writ petition stands disposed of. JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010198672019 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/6072/2019o MARINAoBEGUMo@oMARINAoKHATUNo D/O.oLT.oAJMAToALIo@oAZIMAToALI,oW/O.oABULoHOSSIANoSK,oVILL.o MUSALMANPARA,oP.S.oTAMARHAT,oDIST.oDHUBRI,oASSAM. VERSUSo THEoUNIONoOFoINDIAoANDo6oORS.o REP.oBYoTHEoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoMINISTRYoOFoHOMEoAFFAIRS,oGOVT.oOF INDIA,oNEWoDELHI-110001. 2:THEoELECTIONoCOMMISSIONoOFoINDIA oREP.oBYoTHEoCHIEFoELECTIONoCOMMISSIONERoOFoINDIA oNIRVACHANoSADAN oASHOKAoROAD oNEWoDELHI-110001. 3:THEoSTATEoOFoASSAM oREP.oBYoTHEoCOMM.oANDoSECY.oTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oHOMEoDEPTT. oDISPUR oGUWAHATI-781006. 4:THEoDY.oCOMMISSIONER oDHUBRI oDIST.oDHUBRI oASSAM oPIN-783301. 5:THEoSUPDT.oOFoPOLICEo(B) Page No.# 2/4 DHUBRI DIST. DHUBRI ASSAM PIN-783301. 6:THE DIST. ELECTION OFFICER DHUBRI P.O. AND DIST. DHUBRI ASSAM PIN-783301. 7:THE STATE CO-ORDINATOR OF NRC ASSAM P.O. P.S. BHANGAGHAR GUWAHATI-05 DIST. KAMRUP (M) ASSAM Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. S ISLAM Advocate for the Respondent : ASSTT.S.G.I. BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MICHAEL ZOTHANKHUMA