Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: The Supreme Court tossed out 27 orders declaring Assam residents foreigners on July 13. Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta ordered fresh trials for the group. They sent the cases back to the original Foreigners Tribunals. The judges want these matters heard again from scratch.
The high court originally upheld the initial rulings against the residents. That is now void. The Supreme Court made it clear that citizenship carries immense constitutional weight. Officials cannot ignore procedural safeguards even when investigating false claims. The court expects strict adherence to the Foreigners Act of 1946.
Appellants including Sabitri Dey, Ajbahar Ali, and Md Akbar Ali argued that minor spelling errors and typos in old records triggered these life-altering judgments. The court did not weigh the truth of their claims or the validity of their documents. Those questions stay with the local tribunals.
"The determination of such status must be made through a process which is fair, lawful and reasonable," the bench stated. This directive does not grant an automatic pass to those who cannot prove their status. It just mandates a valid legal process. The tribunals must decide each case independently. They cannot lean on previous, flawed findings.
Comments