2 days ago
Calcutta High Court Orders Domicile Certificate, Fast-Tracks Voter Appeal
A student in West Bengal needed a domicile certificate for college counselling.
Officials did not issue it because her mother’s name had been removed from the voter list.
The student’s own name was still on the voter list, and she had already been given a domicile certificate before.
The Calcutta High Court said officials must check the person applying for the certificate.
It ordered them to issue the certificate within one week if she met the other requirements.
In a separate case, a woman said her voter-list problem was stopping her son from getting a passport.
Her son wanted to study for an MBBS degree in Bangladesh.
The court asked a tribunal to decide her appeal quickly, preferably within two weeks.
The Calcutta High Court directed authorities to issue a domicile certificate to a WBJEE-qualified student within one week if she was otherwise eligible.
The student said she was born, raised, and educated through Class XII in West Bengal and had previously received a domicile certificate.
Authorities withheld the certificate because the student’s mother’s name had been deleted from the voter list.
The court noted that the student remained on the electoral roll, had voted in the last Assembly election, and had previously been certified as a permanent resident.
In a separate case, the court asked a voter-list appellate tribunal to decide within two weeks on a woman’s appeal linked to her son’s passport application for an MBBS course in Bangladesh.
- Who
- The Calcutta High Court, Justice Krishna Rao, a WBJEE-qualified student, and a woman appealing the deletion of her name from the voter list.
- What
- The court ordered authorities to issue the student’s domicile certificate and asked an appellate tribunal to decide the woman’s voter-list appeal promptly.
- Where
- The cases were heard by the Calcutta High Court and concerned authorities in West Bengal; the second case involved a passport needed for study in Bangladesh.
- When
- The domicile-certificate order was passed on August 27; the separate voter-list order was passed on August 20.
- Why
- The student needed the certificate for counselling after clearing WBJEE, while the woman said her voter-list issue was preventing her son from obtaining a passport for an MBBS course in Bangladesh.
Petitioners and Court
Respondent Authorities
Basis for the domicile certificate
Petitioners and Court
The student argued that her own birth, education, previous domicile certificate, and continued inclusion on the electoral roll established her connection to West Bengal. The court said authorities must identify and assess the person applying for the certificate.
Respondent Authorities
Authorities argued that the student was not entitled to the certificate because her mother’s name had been deleted from the voter list.
Effect of the voter-list deletion
Petitioners and Court
The court found no justification for denying the student’s certificate because of her mother’s voter-list status, particularly since the student’s own name remained on the electoral roll and she had voted.
Respondent Authorities
The authorities relied on the mother’s deletion from the voter list as the reason for withholding the certificate, although the court rejected that basis in the circumstances described.
Key facts
- Court
- Calcutta High Court
- Judge
- Justice Krishna Rao
- Domicile case
- Authorities were directed to issue the certificate within one week, if the student was otherwise eligible.
- Student’s qualifications
- She had cleared the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination and had also appeared in NEET.
- Student’s residence record
- She said she was born and brought up in West Bengal and had studied there through Class XII.
- Earlier certificate
- She had previously received a domicile certificate in August 2024 after an inquiry by the sub-divisional officer.
- Separate voter appeal
- The Special Intensive Revision appellate tribunal was asked to decide the woman’s appeal preferably within two weeks.
Quotes
Calcutta High Court order
The court’s written order in the student’s case
“At the time of issuance of the domicile certificate, the authorities have to identify the particular person who has requested for issuance of domicile certificate”
indianexpress.com
“This court does not find any justification by the respondent authorities for denying for grant of domicile certificate to the petitioner”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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