Narjina Begum @ Narjina Bibi v. The Union of India and 5 Ors

ORDER Date : 30.10.2024 Heard Mr. M. Ali, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. G. Sharma, learned counsel for the respondent Nos. 3 & 6, Ms. V. Das, learned counsel for the respondent No. 5 and Mr. H. Kuli, learned counsel appearing on behalf of Mr. A. I. Ali, learned counsel for the respondent No. 2.

¶2The case of the petitioner is that the name of her father is Late Notiyar Rahman Sk and her mother's name is Kazivan Bewa. She is the granddaughter of Late Husen Ali and Notijan Bibi. The name of her father has been incorporated in the Voters List of 1966, 1970, 1979, 1985 and 1989, while her mother's name has been incorporated in the Voters List of 1997 and the subsequent Voters List.

¶3The petitioner after attaining the age of majority in the year 2000 was married to one Taibur Rahman, S/o Moktal Hussain of Vill.- Rakhalkilla, P.S. Lakhimpur, Dist. Goalpara. After her marriage, the petitioner's name has been recorded in the Voters List of 2005 of 39 No. Jaleswar LAC, where her name appears at Sl. No.137 as Narjina Bibi, W/o Tayebur Rahman and her husband's name appears at Sl. No.135 as Tayebur Rahman, S/o Moktal Hosen at House No.267, Vill.- Rakhalkilla, P.S. Lakhipur, Dist. Goalpara, Assam. However, in the Page No.# 3/4 said Voters List of 2005, she has been marked as "D" Voter. Though the petitioner had approached the authorities and submitted representations to remove the mark "D", no action has been undertaken by the respondent authorities.

¶4As 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 appropriate direction that the letter "D" tagged with the name of the petitioner in the voters list be removed.

¶5Whether 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.

¶6In the circumstances, this Court therefore directs the respondent No.6, 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.6 to refer the case of the petitioner as regards the mark "D" in the Voters List in respect to 39 No. Jaleswar LAC 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.

¶7Reference be made within a period of 2 (two) months from the date of Page No.# 4/4 receipt of a certified copy of this order. Upon such reference being made, the petitioner may participate in such proceedings and establish her case.

¶8If 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.

¶9With the above directions and observations, the instant writ petition stands disposed of.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010220882024 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/5546/2024o NARJINAoBEGUMo@oNARJINAoBIBIo W/O-oTAIBURoRAHMAN,o D/O-oLATEoNOTIYARoRAHMANoSK,o VILL-oRAKHALoKILLA,o P.O.-oSIMLABARI,o P.S.-oLAKHIPUR,o DIST.-oGOALPARA,oASSAM. VERSUSo THEoUNIONoOFoINDIAoANDo5oORSo REPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoSECRETARY,o MINISTRYoOFoHOMEoAFFAIRS,o GOVT.oOFoINDIA,oNEWoDELHI-1. 2:THEoELECTIONoCOMMISSIONoOFoINDIA oREPRESENTEDoBYoITSoSECRETARY oNIRVACHANoBHAWAN oNEWoDELHI-1. 3:THEoSTATEoOFoASSAM oREPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oHOMEoDEPARTMENT oDISPURoGUWAHATI-6. 4:THEoSTATEoCO-ORDINATORoOFoNRC oASSAMoBHANGAGARHoGUWAHATI-05. 5:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONERoCUMoDISTRICToELECTIONoOFFICER oGOALPARAoASSAMoPIN-o783101. 6:THEoSUPERINTENDENToOFoPOLICEo(B) oGOALPARA oASSAMoPIN-o783101o Page No.# 2/4 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. M ALI, MD. ANARUL ISLAM,MR J. E. SARKAR Advocate for the Respondent : DY.S.G.I., SC, ECI,SC, F.T,GA, ASSAM BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MICHAEL ZOTHANKHUMA