Supreme Court Overturns Foreigner Status for 27 Individuals in Assam

The Supreme Court of India set aside judgments from the Gauhati High Court and Foreigners Tribunals that had declared 27 individuals in Assam as foreigners. A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta remanded the cases for fresh adjudication, ruling that citizenship status holds high constitutional and legal significance and must be determined through a process that is fair, lawful, and reasonable.

The court found that several original proceedings had effectively become ex parte, preventing a complete adjudication of the evidence. Some appellants, including Sabitri Dey and Ajbahar Ali, argued they were declared foreigners based on hyper-technicalities, such as typographical errors in old electoral rolls. While the court acknowledged that the state has a legitimate and compelling interest in preventing the misuse of citizenship claims and that the burden of proof remains with the individual under the Foreigners Act, 1946, it asserted that these interests cannot override procedural fairness.

The Supreme Court directed the Foreigners Tribunals to decide the cases independently, without influence from previous findings, preferably within six months. Appellants must appear before the tribunals within four weeks. The court further mandated that no coercive action be taken against the 27 individuals until new opinions are rendered, though it clarified that this remand does not decide the merits of the citizenship claims.