The Bombay High Court has held that merely possessing an Aadhaar card, PAN card or voter ID does not make a person a citizen of India, as these documents are meant only for identification or availing services and cannot override the legal requirements of citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Justice Amit Borkar made the observation while rejecting the bail plea of Babu Abdul Ruf Sardar, alleged to be a Bangladeshi national who has been accused of entering India illegally over a decade ago and procuring forged Indian documents, including Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID and an Indian passport.
“The Citizenship Act of 1955 is the main and controlling law for deciding questions about nationality in India today. This statute lays down who can be a citizen, how citizenship can be acquired and in what situations it can be lost,” the court observed. It added that the law draws a “clear line between lawful citizens and illegal migrants”, barring the latter from acquiring citizenship through most legal routes.
The bench said the distinction is crucial to protect the country’s sovereignty and ensure that rights meant for citizens are not wrongfully claimed by those with no legal status to stay in India.
Rejecting Sardar’s claim that his documents were linked to income tax records and business registration, the court noted that the allegations went beyond overstaying and involved “deliberate concealment of identity and creation of forged documents to obtain Indian citizenship benefits.”
The prosecution opposed bail, citing fears that Sardar might abscond, and indicated that the probe was also looking into the possibility of a larger network engaged in illegal immigration and identity fraud. The court accepted the police’s apprehension as genuine, especially since the verification of the accused’s Aadhaar card by the UIDAI and other inquiries were still pending.
Sardar has been booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Passport (Entry to India) Act and the Foreigners Order.
