Gauhati High Court
Miraj Alom @ Miraj Hussain vs The Union Of India And 5 Ors on 10 November, 2020
Bench: Manojit Bhuyan, Soumitra Saikia
Page No.# 1/3
GAHC010083392020
THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
(HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
Case No. : WP(C)/2498/2020
MIRAJ ALOM @ MIRAJ HUSSAIN
S/O. MD. MANIR ALOM, R/O. RAJENDRA PRASAD ROAD, DOOMDOOMA,
P.O. AND P.S. DOOMDOOMA, DIST. TINSUKIA, ASSAM, PIN-786151.
VERSUS
THE UNION OF INDIA AND 5 ORS.
REP. BY THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF INDIA, MINISTRY OF HOME
AFFAIRS, SHASTRI BHAWAN, NEW DELHI-01.
2:THE STATE OF ASSAM
3:THE DY. COMMISSIONER
4:THE SUPDT. OF POLICE (B)
5:THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA
6:THE STATE COORDINATOR OF NATIONAL REGISTRAR OF CITIZEN
Advocate for the Petitioner : MR S CHAKRABORTY
Advocate for the Respondent : ASSTT.S.G.I.
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:: BEFORE ::
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJIT BHUYAN
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SOUMITRA SAIKIA
O R D E R
10.11.2020 (Manojit Bhuyan, J) Heard Mr. S. Chakraborty, learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Ms. A. Gayan, learned counsel representing respondent no.1. Also heard Mr. J. Payeng, learned counsel for respondent nos.2, 3 and 4; Ms. B. Das, learned counsel for respondent no.5 and Ms. G. Hazarika, learned counsel for respondent no.6.
Petitioner assails order/opinion dated 29.12.2018 passed by the Foreigners' Tribunal, Tinsukia, in F.T. Case No.649/D/2006, declaring him to be a foreigner, having illegally entered into the State of Assam (India) after 25th March, 1971.
The petitioner raises a fundamental issue and submits that having regard to the case records, the provisions of Section 6-A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 is not applicable to him, in that, he is not a person having come into Assam (India) from the "specified territory", within the meaning of Section 6-A(1)(c) of the aforesaid Act. He claims to belong to the Bihari community of Bihar origin, in that, his ancestors hail from Saratha village, P.O. Bahlolpur, P.S. Dhaka, Dist: Champaran, Bihar.
We have carefully examined the case records received from the Tribunal. It is seen from the Report of the Local Verification Officer that the place of birth of the petitioner is described as Bihar and date of birth is recorded as 02.11.1981. His father is named as Md. Munir Alom, with present address at Choudhury Market, P.S. Doomdooma, district- Tinsukia. At Sl. No. 12 of the Report it is recorded that the mother tongue of the petitioner is "Hindi". Further, at Sl. Nos.15 and 16 of the said Report, which pertains to queries as to whether the proceedee has migrated into Assam and, if so, the place from where migrated, the Local Verification Officer have recorded in the affirmative as against Sl. No.15 and "Bihar, India"
Page No.# 3/3 against Sl. No.16, meaning thereby that the petitioner migrated into Assam from Bihar. Neither in the impugned opinion dated 29.12.2018 nor in the Report of the Local Verification Officer or in the Referral Order of the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), 125 Doomdooma LAC, there are any findings or suspicion recorded that the petitioner came to Assam from the "specified territory".
Pertinent to note that for the purpose of initiating proceeding against a person for examination as to whether he/she is a foreigner or not, in respect of references made to a Tribunal constituted under the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 having jurisdiction over a district or part thereof in the State of Assam, the primary and necessary ingredient or the condition precedent is that reference can only be made in respect of persons who have come to Assam from the "specified territory", meaning the territories included in Bangladesh immediately before the commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1985, and also having regard to the cut-off date of migration into Assam as prescribed under the aforesaid Section 6-A of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Law being clear, as above, there are neither any suspicion expressed by the Referral Authority nor any findings recorded by the concerned Tribunal that the writ petitioner is a person who has come into Assam from the 'specified territory'. In Section 6-A, particularly at sub-sections (2) and (3), the expression "specified territory" is predominant.
In the absence of any reports of being a person coming into Assam from the 'specified territory', the provisions of Section 6-A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 cannot be made applicable to the petitioner. Any discussion on the merits of the case, therefore, is not deemed necessary to be gone into.
For all the aforesaid reasons, we have no hesitation but to allow the writ petition by setting aside the impugned opinion dated 29.12.2018 passed by the Foreigners' Tribunal, Tinsukia. As a necessary corollary, reference made against the writ petitioner by the Referral Authority is also interfered with.
Office to send back the case records to the respective Tribunal forthwith.
JUDGE JUDGE Comparing Assistant