GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court intervened to halt the deportation of a woman, Maya Rani Barman, declared foreigner by a Foreigners’ Tribunal in Assam.
A bench comprising chief justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra directed the central and Assam governments, the election commission of India, and the NRC Assam coordinator to respond to the matter within three months.
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The court’s directive, issued on May 17, stipulated, “In the meantime, no coercive steps shall be taken against the petitioner on the basis of the impugned judgment and order dated January 11, 2024, of the Gauhati High Court.”
The petitioner, Maya Burman, hailing from the Rajbonshi community, approached the apex court challenging a January 11 decision of the Gauhati high court.
The high court had upheld a 2019 Foreigners’ Tribunal order that declared her a foreigner due to her inability to produce necessary documents, including her parents’ old voter cards.
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In her appeal, Maya Burman contended that obtaining the required documents was practically impossible for her, as she had relocated to Assam following her marriage, originally hailing from Cooch Behar in West Bengal.
“During her migration, tracking those documents was not feasible, especially since her parents had already passed away,” the plea stated.
Additionally, documents substantiating her connection to her Indian citizen parents were lost in floods, she argued.
The High Court’s dismissal of her school-leaving certificate as proof of Indian residency and citizenship, based on the headmaster not being cross-examined, was also contested.
“It is not feasible for her to summon the Headmaster from West Bengal to Lakhimpur, Assam,” she asserted.
Senior Advocate Pijush Kanti Roy, along with advocates Pritthish Roy, Kakali Roy, Sanatan Ghosh, Varun Chugh, Vinayak Sharma, Sharath Nambiar, and Rajan K Chourasia, represented the appellant, Maya Barman.