In a significant legal development, the Calcutta High Court has temporarily suspended the Union Home Ministry’s decision to deactivate the Aadhaar cards of a woman and her family members, who were accused of being Bangladeshi nationals, in the case titled “Priya Das vs Union of India.”
Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, a single-judge, observed that the authorities did not adhere to the procedures mandated by the Citizenship Act, 1955, for revoking an individual’s Indian citizenship, nor did they follow the prescribed rules governing Aadhaar.
The Court emphasized that without proper adjudication or a formal inquiry, the authorities cannot infringe upon the basic rights of the petitioner and her family as Indian citizens. The case arose from criminal proceedings initiated by the woman’s husband, alleging her Bangladeshi nationality.
Justice Bhattacharyya noted that, during the Aadhaar enrollment process, the woman had submitted multiple documents affirming her Indian citizenship. The Court reasoned that mere documents, allegedly indicating Bangladeshi citizenship, should not automatically invalidate her Indian citizenship without thorough scrutiny, inquiry, and justified reasoning.
The Court clarified that if documents concerning Bangladeshi citizenship had been found in the petitioners’ possession, a different presumption might apply. However, it placed the burden on the petitioner’s husband to prove beyond reasonable doubt that she and her family were Bangladeshi citizens at the time the documents, including Aadhaar cards, were issued.
The Court heard the plea of a woman and her family members whose Aadhaar cards were deactivated by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) based on information from the Central Security Agency (CSA) suggesting the petitioner’s Bangladeshi citizenship. The Union government argued that dual citizenship is impermissible under the Indian Constitution, justifying the Aadhaar deactivation and the subsequent suspension of her PAN and Voter ID cards.
The Court observed that even the sub-inspector of police investigating the case was uncertain about the petitioners’ Bangladeshi nationality, as revealed in a relevant police report.
Considering the failure to follow due procedure, the Court found a strong prima facie case for the petitioners to challenge the Aadhaar deactivation memoranda. Therefore, it ordered the suspension of Aadhaar deactivation and all related actions during the petition’s pendency, while allowing authorities to proceed based on the communication in the challenged memoranda, provided they follow proper legal procedures.
The Court scheduled further hearings for December 5, 2023.
Advocates Kallol Basu, Shibaji Kumar Das, Ahshan Ahmed, Samik Sarkar, Rupsa Sreemani, Atreya Chakrabarti, and Swapnamoy Sarkar represented the Petitioners. Additional Solicitor General Ashok Kumar Chakrabarti, along with Advocate Susmita Saha Dutta, represented the Union Government, while Advocate Anuran Samanta represented the Election Commission of India.
