Halima Khatun v. The Union of India and 6 Ors

ORDER

29.11.2024 Heard Mr. A. Roshid, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. J. Payeng, learned counsel for the respondent Nos. 2 & 4, Mrs. P. Baruah, learned counsel for the respondent Nos.5 & 7 and Mr. S.R. Baruah, learned counsel for the respondent No. 3.

¶2The case of the petitioner is that in the voters list of 1997, the name of the petitioner was marked with the letter "D" and thereupon the petitioner has approached the concerned respondent authorities for removal of the tag "D" in his name from the voters list.

¶3As the concerned respondent authorities had failed to do so, the petitioner is before this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for an Page No.# 3/4 appropriate direction that the letter "D" tagged with the name of the petitioner in the voters list be removed.

¶4Whether a person is a D voter or not is a matter of factual determination and the appropriate forum to do the same is the concerned Foreigners Tribunal. This Court in exercise of its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India would not have the competence to decide such a question which depends on the evidence that may be produced.

¶5In the circumstances, this Court therefore directs the respondent No.4, i.e., the Superintendent of Police (Border), Goalpara to verify as to whether the petitioner has already been referred to the concerned Foreigners Tribunal and if upon verification it is found that the petitioner has not been referred to the concerned Foreigners Tribunal, this Court further directs the said respondent No.4 to refer the case of the petitioner as regards the mark "D" in the voters list in respect to Sl. No.861, Goalpara West, LAC No.38, Village Bapurvita, to a competent Foreigners Tribunal, Goalpara district for an appropriate adjudication as regards the status of the petitioner as "D" voter in the concerned voters list.

¶6Reference be made within a period of 2 (two) months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order. Upon such reference being made, the petitioner may participate in such proceedings and establish her case.

¶7If the case of the petitioner as per the records had already been referred to the relevant Foreigners Tribunal there would be no requirement to make any further reference and the detailed information of the earlier reference be communicated to the petitioner. Page No.# 4/4

¶8With the above directions and observations, the instant writ petition stands disposed of.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010244362024 ooooooo 2024:GAU-AS:11855 ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/6264/2024o HALIMAoKHATUNo D/OoARFANoALIo@oARFANoALIoSIKDAR,oW/OoSOMERoALI,oVILL-o BAPURVITA,oP.S.-LAKHIPUR,oDIST-oGOALPARAo(ASSAM),oPIN-783129 VERSUSo THEoUNIONoOFoINDIAoANDo6oORSo REPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoINDIA,o DEPARTMENToOFoHOME,oNEWoDELHI-1 2:THEoSTATEoOFoASSAM oREPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oDEPARTMENToOFoHOME oDISPUR oGUWAHATI-6 3:THEoDISTRICToCOMMISSIONER oGOALPARA oDIST-oGOALPARAo(ASSAM) oPIN-783101 4:THEoSUPERINTENDENToOFoPOLICEo(BORDER) oDIST-oGOALPARAo(ASSAM) oPIN-783101 5:THEoELECTIONoCOMMISSIONER oGOVT.oOFoINDIA oNEWoDELHI-1 Page No.# 2/4 6:THE STATE CO-ORDINATOR OF NATIONAL REGISTRATION (NRC) ASSAM BONFUL NAGAR HOUSEFED 2ND FLOOR GUWAHATI-32 7:THE DISTRICT ELECTION OFFICER (OFFICE OF THE D.C. GOALPARA) DIST- GOALPARA (ASSAM) PIN-78310 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A ROSHID, MS. T BEGUM Advocate for the Respondent : DY.S.G.I., SC, F.T,SC, ECI,GA, ASSAM BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MICHAEL ZOTHANKHUMA