Gauhati High Court upholds foreigner declaration, rejects mental illness plea

This is a judgment by the Gauhati High Court upholding a Foreigners Tribunal's decision to declare a petitioner a foreigner, rejecting his plea that mental illness affected his ability to present his case. It matters to citizens as it clarifies the procedural requirements for raising mental health defenses in citizenship adjudication proceedings in Assam.

The petitioner (Farjul Haque), the Union of India, the State of Assam, the State Coordinator for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) Assam, the Election Commission of India, and the Superintendent of Police (Border) Nagaon.

• The Gauhati High Court dismissed the writ petition filed by the petitioner.
• The Court upheld the Opinion dated 28.03.2017 by the Foreigners Tribunal-5th, Morigaon, which declared the petitioner a foreigner of the post-25.03.1971 stream.
• The Court found that the petitioner failed to establish his link with his claimed father, Abdul Jabbar, noting that his wife gave contrary statements regarding the family lineage.
• The Court rejected the petitioner's argument that his mental illness (Schizophrenia) caused contradictions in his testimony, noting that he did not invoke Section 105 of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, during the Tribunal proceedings to request a referral to a medical board.
• The Court held that under Section 4 of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, a person is deemed to have the capacity to make decisions if they can understand the proceedings, and the petitioner did not demonstrate an inability to do so through the prescribed legal mechanism.

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