Supreme Court sets aside Gauhati HC orders declaring 27 Assam residents foreigners

The Supreme Court on July 13 held that questions relating to citizenship and foreigner status must be decided through a "fair, lawful and reasonable" process, setting aside Gauhati High Court judgments that had upheld the declaration of 27 individuals as foreigners.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta allowed 27 appeals and remanded the cases to the respective Foreigners Tribunals for fresh adjudication, observing that citizenship carries immense constitutional and legal significance and that decisions affecting such status must strictly adhere to the principles of fairness.

"Citizenship and foreigner status occupy a field of high constitutional and legal significance. The State has a legitimate and compelling interest in ensuring that persons who are not legally entitled to claim Indian citizenship do not secure such status by misuse of process, by false claims or by taking advantage of delays," the bench observed.

At the same time, the court emphasised that this objective cannot override procedural safeguards.

"The determination of such status must be made through a process which is fair, lawful and reasonable. The statutory burden under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946 remains fully applicable," the court said.

The apex court clarified that it had not examined the merits of the appellants' citizenship claims or the authenticity of the documents produced by them. Instead, it said those issues must be independently assessed by the concerned Foreigners Tribunals.

"We have not examined the merits of the claims of citizenship by the appellants or expressed any opinion on the genuineness, admissibility, relevance or sufficiency of any document relied upon by them. Those questions must be decided by the concerned Tribunal independently," the bench observed.

The court further clarified that the remand should not be construed as granting any benefit or equity to those unable to establish their citizenship claims.

"The remand being directed is not intended to confer any equity in favour of a person who is unable to establish his or her claim. It is only to ensure that the serious consequence of being declared a foreigner follows from an adjudication which satisfies the requirements of the Foreigners Act, 1946, the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, and the constitutional mandate of fairness," it added.

The Supreme Court consequently set aside both the Gauhati High Court judgments and the opinions and orders passed by the concerned Foreigners Tribunals in all 27 cases. It directed the tribunals to hear the matters afresh and decide them independently without being influenced by any observations made in the earlier proceedings.

Among the appellants were Sabitri Dey, Ajbahar Ali, Md Akbar Ali, Abeda Khatun and Anowara Khatun, who had argued that they were declared foreigners on hyper-technical grounds, including typographical mistakes and minor spelling discrepancies in their names in old electoral rolls.

The appellants had challenged the Foreigners Tribunals' orders before the Gauhati High Court and later approached the Supreme Court through a batch of connected appeals against the Union government. The cases arose from separate orders passed by different Foreigners Tribunals across Assam.

The ruling is expected to have significant implications for citizenship adjudication in Assam, reinforcing that while the burden of proof under the Foreigners Act remains with the individual concerned, tribunals must ensure that such determinations are made through a legally sound and procedurally fair process before declaring anyone a foreigner.