The Gauhati High Court has issued notices to the Assam and Central governments after a writ petition questioned the citizenship status of Ratabari (SC) MLA Bijoy Malakar. The petition asks whether Malakar is legally qualified to hold office as a member of the Assam Legislative Assembly.
The writ petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution. It seeks a writ of quo warranto and mandamus against Malakar, alleging that he is not an Indian citizen by legal definition. The matter has been registered as W.P.(C) No. 7368/2025 before the High Court, which has jurisdiction over Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.
The petitioners, identified as Braja Gopal Sinha and Bijoy Kumar Kanu, are residents of Sribhumi district. They claim that Malakar and his parents entered Assam after the cut-off date of 25 March 1971. Under citizenship and electoral laws applicable in Assam, individuals entering the state after this date are not eligible for citizenship. 
The petition states that after verifying electoral rolls of 1966 and 1971 from Karimganj town, the petitioners found no record of Malakar or his parents. According to the petition, Malakar’s name first appeared in the supplementary electoral roll of 2005. The petitioners allege that this inclusion was made without proper verification of documents.
The petition further alleges that neither Malakar’s father nor mother were listed in the earlier electoral rolls. It states that his father’s name appears only in the 2025 voter list, but there is no linkage with pre-1971 documentary records. The mother’s name, the petition claims, does not appear in any electoral list.
The petitioners also pointed to what they called administrative inaction. They said that despite filing representations and seeking verification from officials, no conclusive citizenship inquiry was carried out. A verification report filed by the District Election Officer, Sribhumi, on 29 November 2025, is described in the petition as “inconclusive” since it failed to connect the family to the 1966 or 1971 rolls.
Citing Article 191(1)(d) of the Constitution and provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the petition seeks Malakar’s disqualification from the Assembly seat for Ratabari (SC).
The High Court has now asked the state and central authorities to clarify Malakar’s citizenship status. The court has granted four weeks’ time for the governments to file their response.
