Read Time: 06 minutes

A bench of Justices Malasri Nandi and N. Kotishwar Singh of the Guwahati High Court has set aside an ex-parte order/opinion of the Foreigners Tribunal declaring a man and his family members as 'Foreigner' because the head of the family failed to appear before the Tribunal after being served notice and also did not file a written statement after seeking time, and said, "It (citizenship) is the key to enjoyment of the rights guaranteed by law of the land. It is through citizenship that a person can enjoy and enforce fundamental rights and other legal rights conferred by the Constitution and other statutes, without which a person cannot lead a meaningful life with dignity."

The petitioners were proceeded against before the Foreigners' Tribunal and an ex-parte order was passed against the petitioners, as the petitioners failed to appear before the learned Tribunal after being served notice and also did not file written statement after seeking time.

The petitioner approached the Tribunal to set aside the order which was rejected on the ground that no sufficient cause was shown by the petitioner for setting aside the ex-parte order.

The petitioner submitted that due to ill health, the petitioner could not appear before the Tribunal. The petitioner further submitted certain documents, namely, the voters' list of 1965, and photocopy of the voters' list of 1970. The petitioners have also referred to a marriage certificate issued by the Mahadevpur Gaon Panchayat.

The Court noted that if the petitioners can prove the above shared documents, they may have legitimate claim as Indians.

The Court further noted that the matter pertains to a very important right of a person i.e. citizenship. If the petitioner could not appear before the learned Tribunal and ex-parte order was passed, it would have a cascading effect on other members of his family.

The Court further reiterated the importance of citizenship of a person in today’s world.

It said, “A person stripped of citizenship would be rendered a stateless person, if any other country refuses to accept him or her as its citizen. Such is the overarching significance and importance of citizenship to a person.”

The Court noted that an adverse opinion by the Tribunal that the declaring a foreigner seals the fate of the proceedee as far as the issue of citizenship is concerned. Thus, “such an opinion of the Tribunal, ought to be given after analyzing the evidence and not by way of default as has been done in the present case,” the Court stated.

Thus, the Court set aside the finding of the tribunal and ordered the petitioner to appear before the tribunal again with fresh application.

Cause Title: Rajendra Das and Others v. The Union of India and Others