Calcutta High Court Rules Documents Insufficient for Proving Citizenship

The Calcutta High Court has recently made a significant ruling regarding the proof of Indian citizenship, stating that documents such as voter identity cards, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards do not serve as definitive evidence of citizenship. This decision came in response to a habeas corpus petition filed by Suman Molla, who challenged the detention of his nephew, Nasir, after his name was removed from the electoral rolls during a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal. Molla argued that despite an ongoing appeal against the deletion of Nasir's name, he was wrongfully detained in a center for illegal immigrants.

During the court proceedings, Molla presented several documents to support his nephew's claim to Indian citizenship, including a voter ID, Aadhaar card, PAN card, and a bank passbook. However, the division bench, comprising Justices Debangsu Basak and Ajay Kumar Gupta, concluded that these documents alone do not constitute conclusive proof of citizenship. The court emphasized that a voter ID card only indicates enrollment in the electoral rolls and does not confirm citizenship, particularly since Nasir's name had been deleted from the rolls during the SIR process. Furthermore, the court stated that merely having a bank account does not establish an individual's citizenship status.