Guwahati News Desk: Five members of a family in Cachar district were declared foreigners by Foreigners Tribunal Court-4 of the district in 2018. After three years, the Gauhati High Court has directed the Foreigners Tribunal-4 of Cachar to hear the case again on December 24 and give them a chance to prove their identity again.
Rajendra Das, his wife Renubala Das and their three minor children –Ananda Das, Biswajit Das and Babita Das – all residents of village Mahadevpur under Katigorah PS in Cachar district, were declared by foreigners of post 25.03.1971 stream by the Foreigners Tribunal-4th, Cachar, Silchar on January 18, 2018 (Case No.327/2017). The Foreigners Tribunal-4th, Cachar, Silchar passed an ex-parte order on January 18, 2018 against the five family members as they failed to appear before the Foreigners Tribunal after being served notice and also did not file written statement after seeking time.
The 2018 order was recently challenged in Gauhati High Court by Rajendra Das and his family. During a hearing in this case (WP(C) No. 8295/2019), Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice Malasri Nandi stated that if the petitioners could prove the documents they had produced in the court, “they may have a legitimate claim that they are Indians and not foreigners”.
In their order, Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice Malasri Nandi stated that Rajendra Das’ father’s name appeared in the voters’ list of 1965 and was regular in upcoming years as well. The court order stated that the petitioners’ counsel had drawn the attention of the court to the voters’ list of 1965, in which the names of one Gandhi Lal Das and Sumurta Bala Das are shown, who Rajendra Das claims to be his parents. Similarly, the petitioners have also annexed one photocopy of the voters’ list of 1970, where the aforesaid names of the parents of Rajendra Das are shown. The petitioners have also referred to a certificate issued by the Mahadevpur Gaon Panchayat, which shows that Renubala Das is married to the petitioner Rajendra Das and as such the petitioners submit that there are sufficient materials to show that they are Indians and not foreigners. The court stated, “We are also of the view that if the petitioners are able to prove the aforesaid documents, they may have a legitimate claim that they are Indians and not foreigners.”