India, Aug. 13 -- Mere possession of Indian identity documents does not make anyone a citizen of India, the Bombay high court said on Tuesday while rejecting the bail plea of an alleged Bangladeshi national accused of staying illegally in the country.

"Merely having documents such as Aadhaar, PAN, or voter ID does not, by itself, make someone a citizen of India," justice Amit Borkar said while denying bail to Babu Abdul Ruf Sardar. "These documents are meant for identification or availing services, but they do not override the basic legal requirements of citizenship as prescribed in the Act (Citizenship Act, 1955)."

The Citizenship Act, 1955 lays down five ways of acquiring Indian citizenship - by birth, descent, registration, naturalis...