Supreme Court raises hopes for Assam 'foreigners'

The Supreme Court on Friday held that those persons declared illegal citizens by Foreigner Tribunals in Assam can seek review of the order passed against them if their name gets included in the final publication of National Register of Citizens (NRC) of Assam to be published before July 31.

The Court order could benefit thousands of residents in Assam who were caught in a piquant situation after the Foreigner Tribunals declared them as foreigners despite their inclusion in the draft NRC released last year. Almost 40 lakh residents of Assam stood excluded of which close to 38 lakh persons filed claims before the NRC Coordinator. After considering their claims, the final NRC is due for publication on July 30.

Meanwhile, close to 17 persons declared foreigners by the Tribunals had approached the Supreme Court with two demands. These persons demanded for an appellate forum to be provided above the Foreigner Tribunals which can open a second round of litigation for them to prove their nationality. Alternatively, they demanded the Court to consider that in the event their name appears in the final NRC, they should be given a chance to point this fact to the Tribunal for reconsidering or reviewing the adverse finding against them.

This was a crucial question set before the Court whether the order passed by the Foreigner Tribunals will have precedence over the NRC or vice versa. Moreover, under the existing law in the state, once a person is declared foreigner by the Tribunal, the process of deportation would automatically set in. Seen from this point of view, the Court's order has given a ray of hope for persons declared foreigners by Tribunals but whose names finally appear in NRC.

The bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna declined to grant the first prayer of the petitioners demanding for an appellate forum to hear appeals against Tribunal decisions. It said that there shall be no second round of litigation. However, on the second demand the bench agreed and ruled that if the final NRC has names of persons declared foreigners by the Tribunals, they can present the document based on which NRC considered their claim to seek a review of the Tribunal's order.

According to advocate Fuzail Ahmed Ayyubi, one of the lawyers who represented the petitioners in Supreme Court, the number of those persons who stand to benefit from SC's order will be close to 10,000. As per the data provided by the state government, there are close to 91000 persons declared as foreigners by the Tribunal of which 72,486 are absconding and are believed to have mixed with the local population. The state has been at odds to trace them and is counting on the NRC exercise to seek eviction of such persons.

ORDER LIKELY TO BENEFIT THOUSANDS

• Scores of people have been caught in a piquant situation after being declared ‘illegal’ by FTs
   
• However, their names have been included in the draft National Register of Citizens released last year
   
• Top court says these people can seek a review of FT decisions if their names appear in final NRC
   
• The final NRC is due for publication on July 30. Nearly 40 lakh were excluded in draft NRC