TMC leader Alo Rani Sarkar, candidate in WB Assembly polls, was a Bangladeshi: HC

Calcutta High Court has ruled that Trinamool Congress candidate from Bongaon Dakshin constituency Alo Rani Sarkar, who had lost to a BJP candidate, was a Bangladeshi citizen during the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election.

Her election petition challenging BJP candidate Swapan Majumdar's victory is liable to be dismissed owing to the fact that the petitioner is not an Indian citizen, Justice Bibek Chaudhuri said in his order of May 20.

The judge said that Sarkar had claimed to be a citizen of India on the strength of passport issued by the passport authority in her name, voters card, PAN card and Aadhar card. But these are not documents of citizenship of India and she had never acquired it in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

Sarkar's claim that she was a citizen of India by birth has proved to be false and it is not clear even on this date as to whether her name has been deleted from the electoral roll in Bangladesh, Justice Chaudhuri said.

On the contrary the admitted position is that the petitioner was a Bangladeshi citizen on the date of declaration of general election of West Bengal State Assembly by the Election Commission, filing of the nomination paper, date of election and declaration of the result, he ruled.

"In view of the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case, a copy of this order be sent to the Election Commission of India for information and for taking necessary action in respect of the petitioner's status in this country as on this date," Justice Chaudhuri directed.

Sarkar had filed the election petition in June, 2021 after which Majumdar had filed an application stating that as the petitioner is a foreign national and not a citizen of India, the appeal filed by her is barred by law.

Her lawyer had opposed the prayer claiming that the election petition, which challenged Manjumdar's win, concerns only whether proper rules were maintained by the respondent against whom the petition was filed.

The TMC candidate had admitted to the court that after her marriage she became a Bangladeshi citizen and her name was recorded in national identity card (NID) of Bangladesh and enrolled in the country's electoral roll.

She, however, claimed that she enrolled her name as a citizen of Bangladesh in the electoral roll of that country out of mistake and she has already filed an application before the concerned authority there for deletion of her name from these.

She also claimed that her marriage was solemnized with one Dr Harendra Nath Sarkar of Bangladesh in 1980 and that her name was enrolled in the NID and electoral roll at any point of time after that.

"Surprisingly enough, from the documents filed by the petitioner it is ascertained that she was enrolled as a voter as per the epic card issued by the Election Commission of India on 1st March, 2012 ... Therefore, during 2012 admittedly she possessed voter identity card of India and at the same time her name was enrolled in the electoral roll of Bangladesh," the court said.

Justice Chaudhuri said that as soon as the petitioner's name was recorded in the electoral roll of Bangladesh and she was enrolled as a citizen of that country, her citizenship of India automatically ceased to exist.

Noting that Sarkar has claimed to be a citizen of this country by birth, the court said, "But from the inquiry report which she relies in her written objection against the application .... It is ascertained that her parents used to live in Bangladesh and she came to India with her uncle in her childhood, meaning thereby that the petitioner was born in Bangladesh".

Stating that her name was not deleted till June 29, 2021 from NID and electoral roll of Bangladesh, the court said that records show that Sarkar filed nomination to contest the Bongaon Dakshin seat on March 21, 2021.

Election to the seat was conducted on April 22, 2021, the result was published on May 2 and the election petition was filed on June 11.

"Therefore, admittedly on all the above dates, the name of the petitioner appeared in the electoral roll of Bangladesh," the court ruled.