Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID alone not enough proof of citizenship: Bombay high court
The Thane resident, since 2013, said he holds
Aadhaar
, PAN card, voter ID and passport. His documents are linked to income tax records, bank accounts, utilities and business registration.
Justice Amit Borkar said, "Merely having documents such an Aadhaar card, PAN card or voter ID does not, by itself, make someone a citizen of India. These documents are meant for identification or availing services but they do not override the basic legal requirement of citizenship as prescribed in the Act.''
The Wagle Estate police station lodged an FIR against Babu Abdul Ruf Sardar. The prosecution alleged he entered India illegally and used forged Indian identity documents. His phone, on forensic examination, contained digital copies of his mother's and his birth certificates issued in Bangladesh. Verification of Aadhaar card from Unique Identification Authority of India is awaited. Sardar was in "frequent contact with multiple numbers linked to Bangladesh.
"
Justice Borkar said the allegations are not limited to mere technical violation of immigration norms but "indicate a case of deliberate concealment of identity and creation of forged documents for obtaining Indian citizenship benefits." The Citizenship Act lays down a permanent system of acquiring and losing citizenship.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
22 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
ED grills Suresh Raina for 8 hours in illegal betting apps probe
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday questioned former India cricketer Suresh Raina for more than eight hours in its money laundering probe against illegal online betting platforms. The agency also recorded Raina's statement under the prevention of money laundering act (PMLA).(PTI) Raina, who was seen interacting with the ED staff and CISF personnel outside the agency's office, marked his attendance at 11 am, and left around 8 pm, PTI reported. The agency also recorded Raina's statement under the prevention of money laundering act (PMLA) for endorsing a sports betting app, which was involved in illegal practices. Raina allegedly undertook certain endorsements for the betting app. The ED interrogated the former Indian cricketer to understand his links with the app, any endorsement fee which he might have received, and the mode of communication used between both parties, PTI quoted sources as saying. Meanwhile, an ED officer said that 'another former Indian cricketer has also been asked to appear before the agency', without naming the individual. The agency, which is calling several celebrities with links to betting apps for interrogation, had also summoned representatives of Google and Meta for questioning as part of the probe. The ED is investigating multiple such cases which involve illegal betting apps, and has also questioned tech firms and media houses' representatives who have received money in the form of advertisements from them. The apps under the scanner have allegedly duped several people and investors of crores of rupees, while also evading taxes. There are around 22 crore Indians using such online betting apps, with half of them being regular users, according to PTI. The online betting app market in India is worth over USD 100 billion, PTI quoted experts as saying. In relation to online betting, the union ministry of information and broadcasting had, in 2023, issued four advisories to newspapers, broadcast news channels, entertainment channels, publishers of online news and current affairs content, online advertisement intermediaries, and social media platforms to not advertise these platforms. However, despite the advisories, celebrities from the entertainment and sports fields continued to endorse such apps, with some of them now being under the ED scanner, according to an officer.
Time of India
30 minutes ago
- Time of India
'124 Not Out': Minta Devi slams opposition for using her face on T-shirts
PATNA: Minta Devi, a 35-year-old from Bihar , who unexpectedly became the INDIA bloc's "vote chori" mascot after a data entry error pegged her age at 124, on Wednesday objected to the opposition using her name and photo on T-shirts to target the Union govt. "Politics is being done in my name. Who gave Priyanka Gandhi and others the right to display my face and name on their T-shirts?" asked Minta, a first-time voter from Siwan. She said the controversy had caused "mental torture" to her middle-class family. Minta explained she had applied online for a voter ID, submitting her Aadhaar as proof. A clerical error recorded her birth year as 1900 instead of 1990. The mistake came to her notice only after the opposition's "124 Not Out" campaign went viral. "This is my first voter ID card, and it has created such an uproar," she said, adding in jest that if her official age was 124, the govt should extend her old-age benefits. "Since the Election Commission has made me a grandmother, PM Modi should give me something too," she quipped. She stressed she wanted no part in any campaign and sought to be left out of the row.
Time of India
40 minutes ago
- Time of India
Sonia Gandhi on poll roll before attaining citizenship: BJP
Sonia Gandhi (File photo) NEW DELHI: BJP on Wednesday sought to turn the tables on Congress over the latter's campaign against alleged "vote theft" by making the serious charge that Sonia Gandhi got herself enrolled twice as a voter without renouncing her Italian citizenship. "Sonia Gandhi's name entered the electoral rolls twice without meeting the basic citizenship requirement - first as an Italian citizen in 1980, and then again in 1983, months before she legally became a citizen of India. We are not even asking why it took her 15 years after marrying Rajiv Gandhi to accept Indian citizenship. If this isn't blatant electoral malpractice, what is?" said BJP IT department head Amit Malviya to counter Congress's claim that EC had facilitated BJP's victories by enrolling fake voters. On X, Malviya posted a copy of the electoral roll form of the official residence of then PM Indira Gandhi, claiming Sonia's name was added during the revision of rolls with Jan 1, 1980, as the qualifying date. . "Following an outcry in 1982, her name was deleted from the list only to reappear in 1983," he said. "In the fresh revision of the electoral rolls that year, Sonia Gandhi was listed at serial number 236 in polling station 140. The qualifying date for registration was Jan 1, 1983, but she was granted Indian citizenship only on April 30, 1983," Malviya added.
