(1.) HEARD Mr. S.K. Ghosh, the learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner. The State is represented by the learned Government Advocate Mr. M. Bhagabati. Mr. D.C. Borah, the learned CGC appears for the Union of India. This matter arises out of the reference made to the Foreigners Tribunal for determination of the status of the petitioner under the Foreigners Act, 1946. Previously the matter was pending before the Illegal Migrants Determination Tribunal (IMDT) but after the Supreme Court decision, the reference was transferred to the Foreigners Tribunal.
(2.) THE petitioner participated in the proceeding (Case No. F.T. 15/2006) but he failed to produce any document to show that he entered India prior to 1971. He relied on the 1966 Voters List of his brother Jogeswar Dey, who was shown to be 75 years in the voters list and the petitioner being the younger brother with an age difference of 30 years, would have been 45 years of age in the year 1966. Thus during the proceeding before the Foreigners Tribunal, the petitioner was aged about 60 years and yet he was unable to produce any Pre 1971 document. The petitioner previously admitted before the Enquiry Officer that his family originally hails from Village -Sawpara, P.S. Munsiganj, District -Dhaka, in erstwhile East Pakistan.
(3.) IN his own evidence, the petitioner admitted that he has no supporting document pertaining to himself or his father on legitimate entry to India. In his cross -examination, he claimed that his brother Jogeswar Dey is elder to him by 30 years. As D.W. 1, he further stated that he heard x from his parents that they came from Dhaka District but he doesn't have any proof of being an Indian citizen. The D.W. 2 Indra Kr. Dey claimed that he knew the petitioner to have voted but he was unable to say in which year, the petitioner cast his vote. The evidence of the D.W. 3 Bisu Dey did not throw any light on the status of the petitioner. The evidence of the defense witness Arjun Ch. Kar was full of uncertainty and was based on approximation of the years and age and similarly the evidence of D.W. 5 Sushil Chakraborty too was based on assumption and imagination.