Decide citizenship via fair process: SC relief for 27 declared foreigners in Assam
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that questions relating to citizenship and foreigner status must be decided through a "fair, lawful and reasonable" process, setting
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled 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 in Assam. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta allowed 27 appeals and remanded the cases to the respective Foreigners Tribunals for fresh adjudication. The court said citizenship is a matter of significant constitutional and legal importance, requiring strict adherence to principles of fairness during adjudication. Read Full Story "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," LiveLaw quoted the bench as saying.
However, the court stressed that this objective cannot override procedural safeguards. "At the same time, 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 observed. The bench clarified that its order was limited to ensuring a fresh and legally valid determination of the cases and that it had not examined the merits of the citizenship claims made by the appellants. "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 court said. The Supreme Court further clarified that the remand order should not be interpreted as providing any advantage or relief to those who fail to establish their citizenship claims before the tribunals, LiveLaw report stated further.
"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," the bench said. Following the order, the Supreme Court set aside the judgments passed by the Gauhati High Court as well as the opinions and orders issued by the concerned Foreigners Tribunals in the cases. The court directed the tribunals to reconsider the matters afresh and decide them independently, without being influenced by any observations made by the High Court or the tribunals in the earlier proceedings. Among the 27 individuals, Sabitri Dey, Ajbahar Ali, Md Akbar Ali, Abeda Khatun and Anowara Khatun had moved the Supreme Court alleging that they were declared foreigners on hyper-technical grounds, including typographical errors and minor discrepancies in the spelling of their names in old electoral rolls.
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