Gauhati High Court, WP(C)/5631/2019 (Judgment & Order CAV), coram Manish Choudhury and Pranjal Das, JJ.; judgment authored by Pranjal Das, J.; reserved 04.06.2026, pronounced 12.06.2026. Kiran Sarkar @ Kiran Baishya challenged the opinion dated 18.01.2019 of the Member, Foreigners Tribunal No. 7, Sonitpur, Balipara (Case No. FTDC No. 439 of 2016, arising out of Reference No. TZP(B)/1065/97 dated 15.05.1998) answering the D-voter reference against her and declaring her a foreigner who illegally entered India on or after 25.03.1971. Held, dismissing the petition and upholding the Tribunal: (i) under section 9 of the Foreigners' Act 1946 the proceedee bears the burden of proving by preponderance of probability, through cogent and essentially documentary linkage evidence, her descent from an Indian-citizen ancestor predating 25.03.1971; (ii) the voters lists of No. 74 Rangapara LAC (1971-2005) name the projected father Hemendra/Hemendar Baishya s/o Gyanendra but never jointly with the petitioner, whose name surfaces first only in 1989 at age 32 beside her husband - post-1971 figuring that cannot build linkage; (iii) the 1953 registered Sale Deed (Exhibit B), even if accepted despite discrepancies (including an unrelated name, Hem Chandra Dutta s/o Dayaram Dutta, on its reverse), proves only the ancestor's pre-1971 citizenship, not the petitioner's linkage; (iv) the Gaon Panchayat Secretary's marriage certificate (Exhibit L), issued circa 45 years after the alleged 1970 marriage without the issuer appearing or contemporaneous corroboration, fails; (v) elector/photo identity cards are not stand-alone proof of citizenship (following para 20.2 of Md. Babul Islam, WP(C) No. 3547/2016, judgment dated 09.05.2018); (vi) the 1964 admission register's overwritings, struck-off name ('Bala Sarkar' altered to 'Baishya') and blank Headmaster-signature column, plus issuance by a Headmaster appointed only in 1985 and the impermissible Ashoka emblem on the certificate (point adopted from Jainaluddin, WP(C) No. 3071/2016, judgment dated 03.04.2018), justify discarding the school certificate. Khudeja Khatoon v. Union of India, 2018 (3) GLT 347, was cited by respondent counsel on inadequate linkage documents. Interim order dated 06.11.2019 vacated; original case record to be returned; observation that the concerned authority may consider any application by the petitioner under the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019.