A Back-breaking Burden ?

In its affidavit concerning NRC ( National Register for Citizens ) , Government has argued :

“ The procedure , which puts the onus on the person claiming to be a citizen to prove the fact, is just, fair and reasonable and has been held so by the courts.

There is a good and sound reason for placing the BURDEN of PROOF upon the person concerned who asserts to be a citizen of a particular country , it contended.

In order to establish citizenship, one may be required to give evidence of ,

Ø  His date of birth

Ø  Place of birth

Ø  Name of his parents

Ø  Their place of birth and citizenship

Sometimes the place of birth of his GRAND-PARENTS may also be relevant like under Section 6A ( 1 ) ( d ) of the Citizenship Act

All these facts would necessarily be within the personal knowledge of the person concerned and not of the authorities

After he has given evidence, the state authorities can verify the facts and rebut them if necessary

If state authorities dispute the claim of citizenship by a person, it will not only be difficult but almost impossible for them to first lead evidence on these points, the affidavit contended “

Without doubt,

“… the Centre was well within its powers to identify illegal migrants and deport them as per law … “

And,

"It is the responsibility of the Centre to detect illegal migrants and follow due process of law in deporting or expelling them “

And,

Such a power conferred by the Foreigners Act, 1946, is absolute and gives unfettered discretion to the government to expel foreigners from India “

 

[ source : NRC must to identify non-citizens: Govt to SC  ]

=========================================================

I suspect there are millions of citizen like me who know the names of their parents but have no clue as to their “ place of birth “ or even their birth-dates !

My parents passed away 48 years ago.

Do I have an option to write “ Do not Know “ against these fields ?

If I do not have such an option, I will be forced to supply FALSE data – which, government has no means to verify !

In fact , my 91 year old sister does not know her birth date !

I am afraid this “ Burden of Proof “ will break somebody’s back or turn India into a “ Nation of Liars “ !

======================================================

21  March  2020

hcp@RecruitGuru.com