Supreme Court Gives Assam Two Weeks to Respond to Pleas of Five Women Declared Foreigners
The Supreme Court has granted the Assam Government two weeks to file its response to a batch of petitions filed by five women challenging orders declaring them as foreigners under the Foreigners Act. A Bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta passed the order after the State sought additional time to place its counter-affidavits on record. The matter has now been directed to be listed after the expiry of the two-week period.
The five petitioners have challenged the findings of the Foreigners Tribunals and subsequent judicial orders that allegedly held them to be foreigners who had entered Assam illegally. In their appeals before the Supreme Court, they contend that the declarations were legally unsustainable and seek protection against the consequences of being treated as foreign nationals, including detention and deportation.
During the hearing, counsel appearing for the Assam Government requested time to file the State’s vakalatnama and detailed counter-affidavits. Accepting the request, the Bench observed: “As prayed, two weeks’ time is granted to the counsel for the respondent–State of Assam to file vakalatnama and counter affidavit(s) in all the cases. List after two weeks.”
The proceedings assume significance against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s recent emphasis that citizenship and foreigner-status determinations must follow a fair, lawful and reasonable process. Earlier this month, the apex court set aside judgments concerning 27 individuals who had been declared foreigners and remanded their cases to the concerned Foreigners Tribunals for fresh adjudication, stressing that the grave consequences of such declarations require strict adherence to procedural fairness and natural justice.
The petitioners are expected to argue that they were wrongly declared foreigners and that the proceedings before the authorities did not adequately safeguard their legal rights. The Supreme Court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of their claims at this stage, and its latest order merely grants the State time to present its defence before the matter is heard in detail.
Citizenship disputes in Assam continue to be among the most sensitive legal issues in the country, involving questions relating to migration, documentary proof of citizenship, and proceedings before the Foreigners Tribunals. The Supreme Court’s recent interventions indicate its continuing focus on ensuring that such determinations are made through procedures consistent with constitutional guarantees of fairness and due process.
The case will return before the Supreme Court after the Assam Government files its response. The Court is then expected to examine the legality of the orders declaring the five women as foreigners and determine whether those findings require interference or fresh adjudication in accordance with law.
