Supreme Court protects 27 declared foreigners in Assam, says citizenship process must be fair
The Supreme Court on Monday sets aside orders declaring 27 individuals in Assam who had been declared foreigners by Foreigners Tribunals. Understanding the importance of fairness in determining citizenship, the court observed that the citizenship and foreigner status occupy a field of high constitutional and legal significance and it must be fair.
“The citizenship determination must follow a fair legal process. No coercive action can be taken until fresh hearings” the apex court. The court also said while the government has a legitimate interest in preventing illegal claims to Indian citizenship, that objective cannot come at the cost of judicial fairness.
The bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta set aside the orders passed by the Foreigners Tribunals and the Gauhati High Court in the connected cases. It also directed that no coercive action be taken against the 27 individuals until the tribunals hear their cases afresh.
The court acknowledged that the State has a legitimate and compelling interest in ensuring that people who are not entitled to Indian citizenship do not obtain it through false claims, misuse of legal processes or procedural delays. However, the bench stressed that such concerns cannot override the requirement of a fair legal process while deciding citizenship disputes.
The judgement makes it clear that procedural fairness must remain central in cases involving citizenship and foreigner status.
Among those who approached the Supreme Court were Sabitri Dey, Ajbahar Ali, Md Akbar Ali, Abeda Khatun and Anowara Khatun. They argued that they had been declared foreigners over technical discrepancies, including typographical mistakes and minor spelling variations in their names across old electoral rolls and official documents.
The petitioners sought to establish their Indian citizenship by relying on historical records, including pre-1971 legacy documents, voter lists and land records.
The Supreme Court, however, clarified that it had not examined the evidence to determine the citizenship status of the petitioners. Instead, it focused on ensuring that the legal process adopted by the tribunals met standards of fairness.
The latest order comes weeks after another Supreme Court bench granted interim relief to five women from Assam who had also been declared foreigners by Foreigners Tribunals.
In that case, the court restrained their deportation and issued notices to the Centre, the Assam government and the Election Commission after the women claimed they had submitted the required documents but were still facing deportation, partly due to inconsistencies in the spelling of their names in official records.
Legal experts had noted that the earlier order raised broader questions about how citizenship claims are assessed by Foreigners Tribunals in Assam. Monday’s judgement further reinforces the emphasis on procedural fairness in such cases while leaving the final determination of citizenship to the tribunals.