Gauhati High Court Rules PAN And Voter ID Do Not Prove Citizenship

The <b>Gauhati High Court</b> has ruled that identity documents like a PAN card and voter ID alone cannot establish Indian citizenship without supporting records. A division bench comprising Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Susmita Phukan Khaund dismissed a writ petition filed by Kulchan Begum. Begum had challenged a 2018 order from a Foreigners Tribunal in Mangaldai that declared her a foreigner who entered India after March 25, 1971. The court noted that documents issued upon self-application without formal inquiry cannot be accepted as absolute proof of citizenship unless backed by the original supporting records on which they were issued.