In Brief
The Supreme Court reversed the Gauhati High Court's decision invalidating certificates issued by Gaon Panchayat Secretaries (village council heads) as supporting documents for citizenship claims under the Citizenship Act, Section 6A. These certificates, issued for married women migrants and approved through stakeholder consultation and government authorization, are valid but must be verified in two stages: first for authenticity of the certificate, and second for authenticity of its contents. The certificates establish only a link between a claimant and their citizenship legacy person and do not themselves prove citizenship. The High Court's invalidation was procedurally improper as it addressed a larger issue not strictly necessary to the case and affected many uninvolved parties without proper notice.
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