The High Court of Gauhati has directed an Assam resident who retained his voting rights for more than twenty years since being declared an illegal immigrant to register with the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office within sixty days.

Jagat Ghosh’s anomalous status as a voter came under the scanner when the HC was hearing a plea filed by him, challenging the May 1999 verdict of a foreigners tribunal against him.

According to the tribunal’s order, the resident of Lanka in central Assam’s Nagaon district had entered the state from Bangladesh between January 1, 1966, & March 25, 1971, the citizenship cut-off for immigrants & their progeny. On May 3, 1999, the tribunal passed an ex-parte order against Ghosh for failing to appear in person or submit documents to prove that he entered Assam prior to January 1, 1966. He was asked to register as a foreigner with the SP (border) of Nagaon.

Ghosh approached High Court in 2020, alleging that he came to know about the tribunal’s order in 2018, over a decade after it was issued. He said there was no question of registering as a foreigner with the appropriate authority as he didn’t know of the verdict against him.

The High Court said that “From the documents annexed by the petitioner, it appears that the petitioner had been casting his vote...continuously from 1970 till date, thus virtually enjoying all the rights & privileges of being a citizen of this country".

As per Citizenship Act, 1955, people who entered Assam between Jan 1, 1966, & March 25, 1971, & have been declared “foreigners” are supposed to register with the designated authority within 60 days. Their names, if included in electoral rolls, need to be removed for 10 years, although they will continue to enjoy other rights accorded to citizens. After 10 years, they can be declared Indian citizens based on proof, paving the way for re-inclusion in the voters’ list.

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