Kapil Sibal’s bizzare arguments to allow illegals in the country, claims individuals not obligated to prove citizenship, but the government has to prove they are not citizens
During the hearing of a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) yesterday (10th July), Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal made some bizarre arguments before the Supreme Court.
Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia remarked during the hearing that the Election Commission is right in checking the citizenship of individuals because only citizens are allowed to vote, and that it is a mandate of the Commission to ensure that only qualified people vote. Responding to the judge’s remarks, Sibal made a strange submission claiming that the burden of proving citizenship does not lie on a person but instead lies on the Election Commission.
“…for that they have to see citizenship because only citizens can vote,” Justice Dhulia said. “The burden is not on me to prove citizenship. Before they remove me from the electoral roll, they have to show that they have some document in their possession that proves that I am not a citizen.” Sibal replied. Sibal backed his argument, claiming that a very small number of people in Bihar have certificates, implying that since people do not have the necessary documents, it is the duty of the Election Commission to prove which of them are citizens and which are not.
Kapil Sibal is completely wrong in the argument, as the burden of proof of citizenship lies with the individuals, not the state, as per Indian laws. As per Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, if an individual is suspected of being illegal immigrant, than it is the obligation of that person too prove otherwise. This means, the state has to provide some initial evidence before an individual is required to prove their citizenship. However, once the state provides evidence, the onus is on the individual to prove they are not a foreigner.
The section states that if any person is suspected of being illegal immigrant, than the onus of proving that the person is Indian citizen lie upon such a person.
Sibal’s illogical remarks attracted amusing reactions from people on social media. One X user sarcastically commented on Sibal’s argument,”As per Mr @KapilSibal, the Election Commission of India has to provide documentation to show that a Bangladeshi is not a citizen of India. What a crazy logic.”
Another X user took a dig at Sibal, saying, “I said the same thing to the officer checking documents at the exam centre, and he called the police officers and got me removed. @KapilSibal bro, I told an officer at the exam centre to prove that I am not the real candidate, and they threw me out”.
Terming the senior advocate’s submission as “lame”, an X user commented, “What a lame and stupid argument..Illegals infiltrated illegally and then made fake papers with the help of Sibal-type leaders’ political parties, and when Institutions/State start the identification process, these illegals manage to hire Sibal-type lawyers who charge millions..Who are the real Orchestrators and beneficiaries of this illegal infiltration business is clear now.”
Expressing shock over Sibal’s remarks, an X user explained how the advocate’s arguments were devoid of any sense. “The burden is on you to prove your identity at all times, go to a bank and get money out without your signature or your code. The bank is not interested in proving you are not Sibal, u have to prove you are Sibal. Is this man an SC lawyer? Have we fallen so low today?” the user said.
After hearing the arguments of the petitioners, which included TMC MP Mahua Moitra, former AAP co-founder Yogendra Yadav, RJD MP Manoj Jha, and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a bench of Justices Dhulia and Joymala Bagchi yesterday refused to stay the SIR. The petitioners had argued that the identification process being followed by the ECI shifted the burden of proof onto citizens and that, considering the high rates of migration and poverty in the state, the requirement of documents specified by the ECI might disenfranchise millions of voters.
The bench directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to consider Aadhaar, voter ID cards, and ration cards as valid documents during the verification drive. The matter has been scheduled for hearing on 28th July.
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