SUPREME COURT STAYS DEPORTATION OF FOUR ASSAM WOMEN DECLARED FOREIGNERS, ORDERS STATUS QUO

A vacation bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and V. Mohan ordered status quo in the matter and issued notices to the Union Government, the Assam Government and the Election Commission of India on petitions filed by Basiran Nessa, Saleha Khatun, Nureza Begum and Sarbhanu Begum.

The four petitioners had previously challenged the orders of the Foreigners' Tribunals before the Gauhati High Court. However, the High Court upheld the findings declaring them foreigners. The Supreme Court has now made it clear that no deportation proceedings will be carried out until the matter is examined by the apex court.

One of the petitioners, Sarbhanu Begum, approximately 50 years old, approached the Supreme Court claiming that she is an impoverished and illiterate domestic worker who has been detained at the Goalpara Detention Centre after being declared a foreigner. The determination was subsequently upheld by the Gauhati High Court. She contended that the decision against her was primarily based on spelling discrepancies in official records.

According to her petition, she has been deprived of her liberty and separated from her family despite substantial evidence supporting her claim to Indian citizenship. The plea described the findings against her as “ex facie perverse” and excessively technical. She was detained on March 2.

Sarbhanu Begum stated that she is the daughter of the late Mia Hussain, whose name appeared in pre-1971 electoral records and National Register of Citizens legacy data of Barkur village in Assam's Darrang district.

The petition stated that she submitted National Register of Citizens legacy records, voter lists, village head certificates, village council certificates, family electoral records and testimony from independent witnesses, including her brother and villagers, to establish continuity of residence and family lineage.

However, the Foreigners' Tribunal allegedly rejected her claim largely because of minor discrepancies in the spelling and recording of names in official documents, including variations such as “Sarbhanu” and “Sorbhanu” and similar differences in nomenclature.

The petition argued that the tribunal ignored settled legal principles under which minor discrepancies in rural electoral records cannot outweigh substantive evidence of citizenship. It further contended that the tribunal improperly discarded her linkage certificates because the issuing authorities were not examined, despite her testimony remaining unrebutted and being corroborated by independent witnesses. According to the plea, these errors resulted in her wrongful declaration as a foreigner and her subsequent detention.

Another petitioner, 50-year-old Saleha Khatun, has also been detained at the Goalpara Detention Centre since March 2 after a Foreigners' Tribunal in Darrang district declared her a foreigner. That decision was later upheld by the Gauhati High Court.

In her petition before the Supreme Court, Saleha Khatun stated that she is an impoverished and illiterate woman who has been deprived of her liberty despite what she described as overwhelming evidence establishing her Indian citizenship.

Her petition stated that she is the daughter of Ahsan Ali and the late Korpuljan, whose names appeared in pre-1971 electoral records and National Register of Citizens legacy data of Nagabandha village in Assam's Nagaon district.

The plea stated that she consistently maintained before authorities that she was their daughter and produced documentary and oral evidence to establish her lineage and citizenship status.

Among the documents submitted before the Foreigners' Tribunal were National Register of Citizens legacy records, voter lists, village head certificates, village council certificates, family electoral records and testimony from her sister.

However, the tribunal, in its order dated December 13, 2018, rejected her claim, allegedly citing discrepancies relating to family particulars, age and other details.

The petition argued that the tribunal placed undue emphasis on trivial and explainable discrepancies while ignoring material evidence supporting her citizenship claim. It further contended that the linkage certificates submitted by Saleha Khatun were discarded merely because the issuing authorities were not examined, despite corroborative oral testimony and independent witness statements.

The plea emphasized that such linkage certificates are often crucial for married women who relocate after marriage and may not possess extensive documentary records in their parental homes.

Following the tribunal's order, Saleha Khatun approached the Gauhati High Court, arguing that evidence establishing her pre-1971 ancestry had not been properly appreciated. However, the High Court dismissed her petition on December 9, 2025, and upheld the tribunal's findings.

Before the Supreme Court, Saleha Khatun argued that the case concerns one of the most fundamental rights, the right to citizenship and the protections arising from it. The petition warned that without intervention by the apex court, she faces the grave and irreversible consequence of being declared a foreigner in her own homeland and losing the constitutional and legal protections available to Indian citizens.

The Supreme Court will now hear the matter after responses are filed by the Union Government, the Assam Government and the Election Commission of India. The case assumes major significance as it raises critical questions regarding citizenship determination, evidentiary standards, personal liberty and the protection of fundamental rights for individuals facing the prospect of detention and deportation.