Assam Woman Declared Foreigner Due to Name Mismatch Regains Indian Citizenship After 6 Years
The court found that her name appeared as Dulubi Bibi, Dulabjan Begum and Dulubi Bibi in different voters' lists and there were mismatches in her father's and grandfather's names in those voters' lists.
Reported by: Ajit Das
Silchar, Assam - October 11, 2023: In a significant turn of events, Dulubi Bibi, a 50-year-old woman from Udharbond area in Cachar district, Assam, has been officially declared an Indian citizen after enduring six years of trauma and uncertainty. Dulubi Bibi's story began in 2017 when she was wrongfully declared an illegal migrant from Bangladesh by a Foreigners Tribunal in Silchar due to discrepancies in her name across multiple voters' lists.
The tribunal's decision was based on inconsistencies in her name, appearing as Dulubi Bibi, Dulabjan Begum, and Dulubi Bibi in various voters' lists, coupled with disparities in her father's and grandfather's names. Unable to establish a connection between her parents' names, Dulubi Bibi was declared a foreigner by the tribunal in 2017. Subsequently, she was arrested by the police on April 18, 2018, and confined to a Detention Camp in Silchar.
After two years of incarceration, she was released in April 2020 on bail following a Supreme Court directive. In May 2023, with the support of the District Legal Service Authority (DLSA), Cachar, and advocate Mahitosh Das, she challenged the 2017 Foreigners Tribunal order in the Guwahati High Court.
Advocate Mahitosh Das, representing Dulubi Bibi, successfully presented her case, demonstrating a clear connection with her grandfather, whose name appeared in multiple voters' lists before 1965. The High Court ordered the Silchar's FT-3 member to rehear the case, considering the newly presented evidence.
In a surprising turn of events, Dulubi Bibi was declared an Indian citizen by the same member, BK Talukdar, who had labeled her an illegal migrant in 2017. The decision, dated October 7, 2023, emphasized the credibility of the new documents, including the 1966 NRC details, printed voters' lists of 1993, Gaon Panchayat Certificate, Elector Voter Identity Card, and an affidavit confirming the various names as belonging to the same person.
Expressing her relief, Dulubi Bibi, upon receiving the official order copy from FT-3, criticized the state government and the entire system for subjecting her to unwarranted suffering. She voiced concerns about her future employability and her acceptance within her family due to the ordeal she endured.
Social activist Kamal Chakrabarty, who supported Dulubi Bibi throughout the legal process, condemned the unnecessary trauma inflicted upon her. He highlighted the court's reliance on circumstantial evidence and emphasized the importance of considering local witnesses, which, if done earlier, could have spared Dulubi Bibi years of suffering.
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