Gauhati High Court Rules PAN and Voter Cards Do Not Prove Citizenship

GUWAHATI — The Gauhati High Court has ruled that a Permanent Account Number (PAN) card and a voter identity card cannot be used as standalone proof of Indian citizenship, holding that such documents are issued without formal verification based on self-declaration.

The ruling was delivered by a division bench comprising Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Susmita Phukan Khaund. The bench dismissed a writ petition filed against an order by a Foreigners Tribunal, which had previously declared the petitioner a foreigner who entered India after March 25, 1971. Alongside the dismissal, the court cancelled the interim bail granted to the petitioner in 2022.

The case centers on citizenship verification procedures in Assam under the legal framework governing residency and immigration cut-off dates. According to court records, the petitioner claimed to have been born in Assam on April 25, 1977, and sought to establish citizenship by submitting multiple documents. These included electoral lists from 1966 and 1970, PAN cards, voter identity cards, a ration card, and an acknowledgment receipt for a National Register of Citizens (NRC) application. The petitioner also argued that previous legal counsel had given incorrect advice regarding the sufficiency of the documents originally submitted.

However, the High Court found the documentation insufficient to discharge the legal burden of proof. The bench stated that the petitioner failed to establish the necessary legal linkage with her claimed father. Furthermore, the court noted that supporting documents, including an area sabha representative’s certificate and the NRC application receipt, lacked proper verification.

Citing Section 6A(2) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, the court concluded that the petitioner had also failed to prove the continuous residence of her father and grandparents in Assam.