Supreme Court grants second chance to 27 Assam residents declared foreigners
UPSC / SSC current affairs note · Polity
Why in news
The Supreme Court of India has given a second chance to 27 Assam residents who were declared foreigners by Foreigners Tribunals in ex-parte orders. Many of them cited illness, poverty, illiteracy, or confusion about the legal process for not appearing before the tribunals. The case highlights the plight of individuals caught in the NRC and citizenship verification process in Assam.
Background
Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) in Assam are quasi-judicial bodies that determine whether a person is a foreigner under the Foreigners Act, 1946. Ex-parte orders are passed when the accused fails to appear. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam was updated in 2019, and many residents were excluded. The Supreme Court has been monitoring the NRC process and detention of declared foreigners.
Key facts
27 Assam residents declared foreigners by Foreigners Tribunals in ex-parte orders have been given a second chance by the Supreme Court.
Many cited illness, poverty, illiteracy, or confusion about the legal process as reasons for not appearing before the tribunal.
Noor Jahan and Abdul Jebbar spent seven years in detention after being declared foreigners in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
They were released in 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown after the Supreme Court ordered release of long-term detainees on conditional bail.
Noor Jahan's father's name appeared in the 1951 NRC, and she had voting records before 1966, but these were not considered by the tribunal.
The Gauhati High Court dismissed their writ petition in 2013, but the Supreme Court later intervened.
The Supreme Court order allows these 27 individuals to present their case again before the Foreigners Tribunal.
Prelims pointers
- Foreigners Tribunal (FT): quasi-judicial body under Foreigners Act, 1946
- National Register of Citizens (NRC): register of Indian citizens in Assam, first prepared in 1951
- Ex-parte order: decision made without one party present
- Supreme Court of India: apex judicial body
- Gauhati High Court: high court for Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh
- Foreigners Act, 1946: law dealing with entry, presence, and departure of foreigners in India
- Citizenship Act, 1955: governs acquisition and determination of Indian citizenship
- Assam Accord (1985): agreement that set March 24, 1971 as cut-off date for citizenship in Assam
Mains angles
- Discuss the role of Foreigners Tribunals in Assam and the challenges faced by individuals in proving citizenship.
- Critically examine the impact of ex-parte orders on the rights of individuals, especially the poor and illiterate.
- Analyze the Supreme Court's intervention in citizenship matters and its implications for the NRC process.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the legal framework for detecting and deporting illegal foreigners in Assam.