Election card can be said to be sufficient proof of citizenship: Court | REUTERS image for representation

A magistrate court in Mumbai acquitted a couple suspected to be illegal Bangladeshi immigrants saying original election card is a proof of citizenship unless proven otherwise.

The couple was arrested in 2017 for entering India illegally and staying in Maharashtra's Mumbai without documents. They were but acquitted on Tuesday.

Esplanade court in Mumbai acquitted the couple saying, "The birth certificate, domicile certificate, bonafide certificate, passport, etc can be relied upon to establish the origin of any person."

The court added, "Even the election card can be said to be a sufficient proof of citizenship as while applying for the election card or voting card, a person has to file declaration with the authority in view of Form 6 of Peoples Representation Act to the authority that he is citizen of India and if the declaration is found false, he is liable for punishment."

The court observed that Abbas Shaikh (45) and Rabiyakhatun Shaikh (40) submitted original documents.

Prosecution suggested that these documents were false but no rebuttal evidence was placed on record by the prosecution to vanish the documentary evidence produced by the accused.

Hence, the court in its order said, "Prosecution has failed to bring any evidence on record to establish that the documents produced by the accused are not genuine."

The order clarified that Aadhaar Card, PAN card, driving license or ration card cannot be termed documents proving the citizenship of any person in a sufficient manner as said documents are not meant for the purpose of citizenship.