Guwahati: The Supreme Court on July 13 ruled that citizenship and foreigner status must be determined through a “fair, lawful and reasonable” process while 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 the appeals filed by the 27 individuals and sent the cases back to the respective Foreigners Tribunals for fresh adjudication. The court observed that citizenship carries significant constitutional and legal importance and that any decision affecting a person’s citizenship status must strictly follow principles of fairness.
The apex court said the State has a legitimate interest in ensuring that people who are not legally entitled to Indian citizenship do not obtain such status through false claims, misuse of legal procedures or delays in the process. However, it clarified that this objective cannot override procedural safeguards available under the law.
“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 bench observed.
The Supreme Court clarified that it had not examined the merits of the appellants’ citizenship claims or the authenticity, admissibility, relevance or sufficiency of the documents submitted by them. It said these issues would have to be independently examined by the concerned Foreigners Tribunals.
The court also made it clear that the remand of the cases should not be treated as providing any benefit to individuals who fail to establish their citizenship claims. It said the purpose of sending the matters back was only to ensure that the serious consequence of being declared a foreigner follows a proper adjudication under the Foreigners Act, 1946, the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 and constitutional principles of fairness.
The Supreme Court consequently set aside the Gauhati High Court judgments as well as the opinions and orders passed by the concerned Foreigners Tribunals in all 27 cases. It directed the tribunals to reconsider the matters afresh and take independent decisions without being influenced by earlier observations.
Among those who approached the Supreme Court were Sabitri Dey, Ajbahar Ali, Md Akbar Ali, Abeda Khatun and Anowara Khatun. The appellants had argued that they were declared foreigners on technical grounds, including spelling errors and typographical mistakes in their names appearing in old electoral rolls.
The cases originated from separate proceedings before different Foreigners Tribunals across Assam. After their pleas were rejected by the tribunals and the Gauhati High Court, the individuals approached the Supreme Court through a batch of connected appeals against the Union government.
The ruling is expected to have wider implications for citizenship adjudication in Assam, reinforcing that while the burden of proving citizenship remains with the individual under the Foreigners Act, authorities must ensure that such decisions are reached through a legally valid and procedurally fair process before declaring anyone a foreigner.