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A division bench of Gauhati High Court has set aside an order of the Foreigners Tribunal and declared a woman as an Indian. Pupa Rani Dhar, the woman in question was declared as foreigner by foreigners’ tribunal in Assam’s Bongaigaon that in November 2017 said she is a foreigner.

A Division Bench of Justices N Kotiswar Singh and Malasri Nandi stated that the reasoning given by the Tribunal is "hard to accept".

Referring to a Railway Certificate which was rejected by the Tribunal, the High Court stated,  "We fail to understand, how the said document can be said to be irrelevant and liable to be rejected."

Perusing more documents like, Voters' lists, a land document of 2008 the Court came to the conclusion that, “The petitioner has been able to produce sufficient evidence before the learned Tribunal to show that she is an Indian citizen and not a foreigner.”

Further, the Court held that the petitioner does not have to register herself as the State states, because registration of a person arises only when he/she is found to be an illegal entrant to India between the period of January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971 and who has ordinarily been a resident in the State of Assam thereafter, and detected to be a foreigner.

In the present, the petitioner has proved that she is a daughter of Hirendra Nath Paul who was residing in Bengal during 1966 and as such, she is an Indian in light of the other evidence adduced by her.

“Accordingly, we are of the view that the question of registration of the petitioner who is otherwise Indian does not arise as she had been an Indian and not a foreigner at any point of time,” the Court added.

Cause Title: Smti Puspa Rani Dhar v. The Union of India