Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has sought details from the Assam government on when the Nagaon Foreigners’ Tribunal (FT) prepared its opinions declaring two women, Jahanara Begum and Mumtaz Begum, foreigners, amid questions over their deportation to Bangladesh while their legal challenges were pending.

During a hearing on October 7, a bench of Justices Kalyan Rai Surana and Pranjal Das directed the state government to provide the dates and times when the tribunal prepared the opinions.

The court warned that, if the government failed to provide the details, it would presume that the opinions “were not made ready within the appropriate time” before the women were taken into police custody, The Indian Express reported.

The High Court is hearing the two cases separately but has issued similar orders in both. The orders were uploaded to the court’s website on Thursday.

The two women were sent to Bangladesh while their legal challenges were still pending, and their whereabouts remain unknown. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has told the court that efforts to trace them are continuing.

During the hearing, the MEA sought more time to locate the women, stating that inquiries into their whereabouts were still underway. Reports in late September said Bangladeshi authorities had begun searching for Mumtaz after media outlets contacted them about her case.

In September, the High Court had directed the Assam government to investigate when the Nagaon tribunal prepared fresh opinions declaring the two women foreigners. Those opinions led to their deportation.

According to court records, Mumtaz, 43, was declared a foreign national by the Foreigners’ Tribunal, 4th Nagaon, at Juria.

She was handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) on June 13 and sent to Bangladesh during the night of June 13–14 through the Kalaincherra area of Cachar district.

The High Court subsequently directed the Assam government to pay interim compensation of Rs 2 lakh to her husband, Mujammel Hoque. The court noted that Mumtaz had been sent to Bangladesh without her husband or any adult family member being informed of her detention. It also observed that the circumstances had prevented her from properly challenging the tribunal’s decision.

The cases have also triggered a political row in Assam. During the recently concluded Nagaon bypoll, Opposition parties questioned the state government over the deportations.

The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) filed a police complaint against BJP candidate Devashish Sharma, who was the Nagaon deputy commissioner during the period in question.

The Assam Congress also wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, seeking his intervention to trace the two women.