Polity · 31 Jul 2026

Immigration and Foreigners Act 2025 burden of proof

With reference to the Calcutta High Court's ruling on citizenship proof, consider the following statements:

  1. Under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, the burden of proving citizenship lies on the individual rather than the state.
  2. Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 explicitly states that an Aadhaar number is proof of citizenship.
  3. The Citizenship Act, 1955 requires proof of birth or descent to establish citizenship, unlike documents such as Voter ID or PAN.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A1 only
B1 and 3 only
C2 and 3 only
D1, 2 and 3

Tests precise statutory language and requires distinguishing a document's stated legal purpose from its everyday functional use, an analytical distinction beyond simple recall.

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This question is based on: Voter ID, Aadhaar, PAN Not Conclusive Proof of Indian Citizenship: Calcutta HC
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About this question

Why in news

The Calcutta High Court dismissed a habeas corpus petition after ruling that Voter ID, Aadhaar, PAN and a bank passbook, even together, are not conclusive proof of citizenship, amid West Bengal's 2026 Special Intensive Revision drive.

Why for UPSC

This tests precise knowledge of what a specific statutory provision (Aadhaar Act Section 9) actually says, a favourite UPSC technique of inverting a well-known fact to test careful reading.

Prelims summary

The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 places the burden of proving citizenship on the individual; Aadhaar under Section 9 proves only identity and residence, not citizenship, which requires birth/descent proof under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

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