Mumbai court: Voter identity card is sufficient proof of citizenship
By MYBRANDBOOK
A Mumbai court has ruled that an election card of voter identification card was sufficient proof of citizenship, this month.
On suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals, Abbas Shaikh (45) and his wife Rabiya Khatoon Shaikh (40) were recently arrested by the city police. They were charged with violating Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950 and Foreigners Act, 1946.
According to the police, the couple was arrested from the Reay Road neighbourhood after an informer provided information to the authorities that they were Bangladeshi nationals residing “illegally” in India.
Two police officials submitted before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, A H Khashikar that one Rabibul from the suburbs of Mankhurd, who was arrested on suspicion of being a Bangladeshi, named the couple as fellow migrants. While Rabibul subsequently escaped from police custody, the Shaikhs were picked up from their shanty at Reay Road, the policemen told the court.
The couple denied of being Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in India. They produced several documents as evidence. Abbas Shaikh produced his Aadhaar card, PAN card, election card, bank passbook, health card and ration card as proof of his Indian nationality and his wife produced Aadhaar card, PAN card and election card.
The magistrate said that an election card or voter ID was sufficient proof of citizenship. “.....while applying for the election card or voting card a person has to file declaration with the authority in view of Form 6 of Peoples Representation Act to the authority that he is citizen of India and if the declaration is found false, he is liable for punishment. To my mind such a declaration is sufficient to prove the citizenship unless contrary is proved by the prosecution...,” the magistrate ruled.
The court also said that Aadhaar card, PAN card, driving licence or ration card were not sufficient to prove citizenship of any person as these were not meant for the purpose of citizenship. However, documents like birth certificate, domicile certificate, bonafide certificate, passport, etc., in addition to the election card or voter identification card could be relied upon to establish the origin of any person.
While acquitting Abbas Shaikh and his wife Rabiya, the court ruled that the prosecution could not prove that the couple had produced fake documents to claim Indian citizenship.
BHIM to join e-commerce, competing with PhonePe and Google Pay
The government-supported payment software BHIM is getting ready to join t...
The latest version of X helps prevent deepfakes on social medi
To combat deepfakes and shallowfakes, Elon Musk revealed a new update t...
India and Namibia collaborate on a payment system similar to U
Once operational, the platform will enable digital transactions in Namibia,...
Sebi issues show-cause notices to six Adani group firms
Sebi issued show-cause notices to six Adani Group firms, including Adani ...
FRESHWORKS TECHNOLOGIES PVT. LTD.
NETWEB TECHNOLOGIES INDIA LTD.
FIREBOLTT
TVS ELECTRONICS LTD.
Technology Icons Of India 2023: Bharat Goenka
Bharat Goenka is the Managing Director of Tally Solutions. He is well ...
Technology Icons Of India 2023: Nandan Nilekani
Nandan Nilekani is the Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board, Infosys T...
Technology Icons Of India 2023: Amit Chadha
. An influential leader in the engineering services industry for over ...
ITI Limited widening its focus area
ITI Limited is a public sector undertaking company, has manufacturing ...
GeM maintains transparency in online procurement of goods & services
Created in a record time of five months, Government eMarketplace is a ...
INDIANOIL helps reach precious petroleum fuels to every nook and corner of the country
IndianOil, a diversified, integrated energy major with presence in alm...
ADITYA INFOTECH LTD.
Aditya Infotech Ltd. (AIL) – the technology arm of Aditya Group, is ...
TECHNOBIND SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.
TechnoBind’s business model is focused on identifying and partnering...
INGRAM MICRO INDIA PVT. LTD.
Ingram Micro India, a large national distributor offers a comprehensiv...