New Delhi: The Supreme Court on July 13 (Monday) called for a “fair, lawful and reasonable process” to determine citizenship status in the country. The court set aside the Gauhati High Court’s decisions that had upheld the declaration of 27 Assam residents as foreigners and directed the concerned Foreigners Tribunals to hear their cases again. The top court emphasised the need for fair and lawful hearing.
Why Did the Supreme Court Intervene?
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta allowed 27 appeals filed by Assam residents whose foreigner declarations had earlier been upheld by the Gauhati High Court. The court remanded the matters to the respective Foreigners Tribunals for fresh adjudication. Observing that citizenship is a matter of “high constitutional and legal significance,” the Bench said the State has a legitimate interest in preventing ineligible individuals from securing Indian citizenship through false claims or procedural misuse. However, it emphasised that this objective cannot come at the expense of fairness and legality.
What Did the Court Say About the Citizenship Process?
The Supreme Court reaffirmed that proceedings under the Foreigners Act, 1946, must strictly adhere to legal safeguards. While noting that the burden of proof under Section 9 of the Act continues to apply, the Bench said any determination of citizenship or foreigner status must follow a procedure that is fair and reasonable. The judges clarified that they had not examined the merits of the appellants’ citizenship claims or the authenticity of the documents produced by them. Instead, those issues would now be independently assessed by the concerned Foreigners Tribunals during fresh hearings. The court also made it clear that the remand should not be treated as granting any advantage to the appellants. Rather, its purpose is to ensure that the grave consequence of being declared a foreigner follows only after a legally valid adjudication consistent with the Foreigners Act, the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, and constitutional principles of fairness.
Why Were the Earlier Orders Challenged?
Several appellants, including Sabitri Dey, Ajbahar Ali, Md Akbar Ali, Abeda Khatun and Anowara Khatun, argued that they had been declared foreigners over minor inconsistencies such as typographical mistakes and spelling variations in old electoral records. They had initially challenged the Foreigners Tribunals’ decisions before the Gauhati High Court before approaching the Supreme Court through connected petitions against the Union government.
What Happens Next?
As of now, the Supreme Court has set aside both the Gauhati High Court judgments and the opinions of the concerned Foreigners Tribunals, including all 27 cases, which will now be reconsidered from the beginning. The tribunals have been directed to decide the earlier matters independently, without being influenced by their earlier findings of the High Court’s observations, ensuring a fresh and impartial determination of the citizenship claims.
