Rahim Ali: Restoring a dead man’s citizenship
If restoring a dead man’s citizenship twenty years after it was first contested and two years after his death does not have to remain a cruel joke, his case needs to be made an example and precedent for similar cases.
Published on: 29 July 2024, 01:58 pm
If restoring a dead man's citizenship twenty years after it was first contested and two years after his death does not have to remain a cruel joke, his case needs to be made an example and precedent for similar cases.
—
AFTER fighting against the dispute over his nationality for two decades and two years after his death, a two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Vikram Nath 'restored' the citizenship of Rahim Ali on July 11 this year.
Twenty years is a long time. In Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the punishment given to a convict in heinous offences, which include murder and gang rape, is twenty years.
To understand the process that led to the suspension of Ali's citizenship, which in a constitutional democracy like India may be compared to a civil death, we need to go into the details, as like the devil, many acts of injustice lie in the details.
Why was Ali compelled to live in the perennial fear of detention for twenty years?
Brief facts
In 2004, a case was initiated by the superintendent of police (border), Nalbari doubting the citizenship status of Rahim Ali by alleging that he had illegally migrated from Bangladesh after March 25, 1971 into Assam, India.
“Twenty years is a long time. In Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the punishment given to a convict in heinous offences, which include murder and gang rape, is twenty years.
The case was registered in the Foreigners Tribunal, Nalbari in Assam. Subsequently, on receipt of notice given by the tribunal, Rahim Ali appeared on July 18, 2011 praying for time to file a written statement.