Last Updated on July 13, 2026 6:07 pm by BIZNAMA NEWS
AGENCIES
The Supreme Court today ruled that the process of determining citizenship or declaring an individual a foreigner must be fair, while hearing a batch of petitions filed by 27 people who had been declared “foreigners” by Foreigners Tribunals in Assam.
A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta set aside the orders of the Gauhati High Court and the Foreigners Tribunals in the 27 cases.
The Supreme Court said that the process of deciding citizenship or declaring a person a foreigner must be fair and cannot compromise judicial principles. It acknowledged that the State has a legitimate and compelling interest in ensuring that those not legally entitled to Indian citizenship do not obtain it through false claims, misuse of legal process, or delay, but stressed that due process must prevail. It directed that no coercive action be taken against the petitioners until the tribunals rehear their cases.
Among the petitioners were Sabitri Dey, Ajbahar Ali, Md Akbar Ali, Abeda Khatun and Anowara Khatun, who argued that they had been declared foreigners on hyper-technical grounds and minor discrepancies. The petitioners had challenged the tribunal orders before the Gauhati High Court and later the Supreme Court, relying on documents such as pre-1971 legacy records, electoral rolls and land records to establish their Indian citizenship.