SC sets aside 'foreigner' tag on 27 people, orders fresh hearing

Guwahati: Setting aside judgements of the Gauhati High Court and Foreigners' Tribunal that had upheld declarations of 27 individuals as foreigners, Supreme Court on Monday observed that the process of determining citizenship or declaring someone a foreigner must be fair.

A bench of justice Vikram Nath and justice Sandeep Mehta allowed the 27 appeals and said, "Citizenship and foreigner status occupy a field of high constitutional and legal significance." Clarifying that it had not examined the evidence or decided whether the petitioners are Indian citizens, SC directed the tribunal to reconsider the cases in accordance with the law.

SC stressed that no coercive action could be taken against the 27 individuals who had been declared "foreigners" until another hearing was held by the tribunal. "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, false claims or delays," SC observed, adding "the legal process must remain fair and transparent".


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Of the 27 appellants, Sabitri Dey, Ajbahar Ali, Md Akbar Ali, Abeda Khatun and Anowara Khatun had approached the apex court, alleging that they were declared foreigners on hyper-technical grounds, such as typographical errors and minor mismatches in the spellings of their names in old electoral rolls. The bench said the government is entitled to prevent misuse of the citizenship process through false claims or unnecessary delays. However, it made it clear that such concerns cannot override the principles of justice and fair procedure.