Gauhati High Court upholds Foreigners Tribunal ruling declaring petitioner a foreigner

It matters to citizens as it clarifies the procedural requirements for raising mental health defenses in citizenship adjudication proceedings in Assam.

Who it concerns: 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.

What was decided

• 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.

Also in the document

• The judgment was reserved on 22.06.2026 and pronounced on 26.06.2026.
• The petitioner had relied on voter lists from 1966, 1971, 1989, and 1993, as well as land sale deeds from 1957, to prove citizenship, but the Tribunal found these documents insufficient to establish the specific lineage claimed.
• The Court cited the principle that a writ court under Certiorari jurisdiction should refrain from reviewing the findings of facts reached by the Tribunal.