India, Nov. 12 -- The Gauhati high court has rejected a woman's claim of Indian citizenship, holding that PAN cards and Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) issued on the basis of self-applications without formal verification cannot independently establish citizenship unless supported by the records underlying their issuance.

The court dismissed a writ petition filed by Kulchan Begum of Assam's Darrang district, challenging a 2018 order by a Foreigners Tribunal in Mangaldai, declaring her a foreigner who entered India after March 25, 1971.

A division bench of Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Susmita Phukan Khaund observed that the documents she relied on, including her father's PAN card and voter ID and her own electoral identity...