4. Violations of Natural Justice and the Right of Due Process Titular Variations Among Muslims in Assam, variations in names frequently arise because titles or honorifics are used interchangeably.393 Yet, the Gauhati High Court has often interpreted these variations as evidence that the names refer to different individuals. For example, Jeleka Begum’s father appeared as Jaynal Seikh in the 1965 and 1970 voter rolls, but as Jaynal Ali in the 1997 roll, where his name was listed alongside hers. Despite the common, interchangeable use of Seikh and Ali, Justice B.K. Sharma held that Jeleka had failed to prove the names referred to the same person.394 Similarly, Justice B.P. Katakey ruled that Abdul Aziz Sheikh and Abdul Aziz could not be treated as the same individual.395 The Court has overlooked the social and cultural realities behind such titular variations. Among Bengali Muslims, Sheikh is not a fixed surname but an honorific commonly added to men’s names. Likewise, women often adopt Khatun (meaning “noble woman”) as a title.396 This led, for instance, to Rahman Ali’s mother being recorded both as Hajera Nessa and Hajera Khatun, a discrepancy that unfairly undermined his claim.397 Nicknames or Multiple Names It is not always the case that a person has a single, unique official name. In Assam, particularly among Bengali-origin and Assamese communities, it is common to have multiple names, including a daak naam (pet name or nickname) used within family or close circles alongside an official name. These multiple names can appear across documents, often leading to inconsistency because names are not always treated as unique identifiers.398 For example, Surap Ali’s father was listed as Tosuruddin Sheikh in the 1966 and 1970 voter rolls, while Surap himself appeared as the son of Achimuddin in the 1989 voter roll, Sohrab Ali son of Ochi in the 1997 roll, and Achimuddin again in 2015 and 2017. No document clarified whether Tosuruddin Sheikh, Achimuddin, or Ochi were the same person. Rather than exploring whether these were nicknames for the same individual, the FT–followed by the High Court–treated the variations as fatal to Surap’s claim.399 By contrast, in Md. Anuwar Hussain v. Union of India,400 Justice Ujjal Bhuyan recognised that rural Muslims often have multiple names or spellings. He rightly concluded that variations in Anuwar’s father’s name—Samed Ali, Abdul Samed, Samed—did not undermine his citizenship claim. 393 Zeba Siddiqui, ‘In India’s Citizenship Test, a Spelling Error Can Ruin a Family’ Reuters (17 August 2018) <https://www.reuters.com/article/ idUSKBN1L206H/> accessed 26 June 2025. 394 Jeleka Begum v. Union of India WP(C) 1876/2013 (Gauhati High Court, 30 August 2013). 395 Abdul Matali @ Md. Matalek @ Abdul Mutaleb @ Mutaleb @ Md. Abdul Matleb v. Union of India WP(C) 1291/2013 (Gauhati High Court, 6 May 2013). 396 KM Sharma, ‘What’s in a Name: Law, Religion, and Islamic Names’ (1998) 26 Denver Journal of International Law & Policy 151, 164-165. 397 Rahman Ali (n 385). 398 Rahim Ali (n 2) [41], [42]. 399 Shorab Ali @ Shurap Ali v. Union of India WP(C) 3713/2019 (Gauhati High Court, 9 August 2019). 400 Md. Anuwar Hussain (n 384). 121