The
Supreme Court on Monday said that determining a person's citizenship and
foreign status must be carried out through a "fair, lawful and
reasonable" process. The apex court observed this while setting aside
Gauhati High Court judgments that had upheld declarations of 27 appellants as
foreigners, LiveLaw reported.
A
Bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta was hearing the
appeals against the High Court's decisions. It allowed the appeals and remanded
the cases to the concerned Foreigners Tribunals for fresh adjudication, saying
that citizenship carries profound constitutional significance and must be
determined in accordance with the requirements of fairness.
The
Court clarified that it had not examined the merits of the appellants'
citizenship claims, which would now be decided afresh by the Foreigners
Tribunals.
"Citizenship
and foreigner status occupy a field of high constitutional and legal
significance," the Court said, while acknowledging the government's
legitimate interest in preventing illegal claims to Indian citizenship. It
said, "The State has a legitimate and compelling interest in ensuring that
persons who are not legally entitled to claim Indian citizenship do not secure
such status by misuse of process, by false claim or by taking advantage of
delays," quoted LiveLaw.
The
top court, however, emphasised that this objective cannot come at the cost of
procedural fairness.
"At
the same time, the determination of such status must be made through a process
which is fair, lawful and reasonable. The statutory burden under Section 9 of
the Foreigners Act, 1946 remains fully applicable," the apex court stated,
quoted LiveLaw.
The
Gauhati High Court had held that, under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946,
the burden of proving Indian citizenship rests on the proceedee, since the
relevant facts are especially within the person's knowledge.
The debate over proof of Indian citizenship
reignited last month after the Ministry of External Affairs said that a
passport is a travel document and not conclusive proof of citizenship. The
clarification triggered a backlash on social media, with many pointing out that
the Supreme Court had earlier held that Aadhaar is merely a document of
identity and not conclusive proof of citizenship. The Bombay High Court had
also ruled last year that possession of an Aadhaar card, PAN card, voter ID or
even a passport does not, by itself, establish Indian citizenship in a court of
law.
According to the Citizenship Act, 1955, there is no
single universal document that conclusively proves Indian citizenship. Instead,
citizenship is determined based on how it was acquired, whether by birth,
descent, registration or naturalisation.