Woman Declared Indian Now Called Foreigner. Court Pulls Up Assam Tribunal

Guwahati:

A Foreigners’ Tribunal’s flip flop on a girl in Assam — first declaring her an Indian and fewer than 5 years later a foreigner — has irked the Gauhati Excessive Court docket, which ordered her launch from the detention camp and pulled up the tribunal.  

Hasina Bhanu was lodged within the Tezpur detention camp contained in the Tezpur jail since October 19, after being declared a foreigner by the tribunal in Darrang district.

She then went to court docket, contending that in August 2016, the identical tribunal had mentioned that she was not a foreigner or an unlawful migrant.

However the Border Police department of Shyampur Police station, which dealt with her case final time, had once more despatched her to the identical tribunal.

On March 18, the tribunal declared her as Foreigner. She was arrested and put in a detention camp.

In its order, the court docket made sturdy remarks concerning the tribunal’s order. Citing a precedent within the Supreme Court docket, Justice N Kotishwar Singh mentioned, “We’re unable to grasp how the tribunal proceeded to look at the matter”.

“We’re of the opinion that in view of the choice of the Supreme Court docket in Abduk Kuddus, the tribunal couldn’t have proceeded with the matter and, as such, the second continuing could be unlawful”.

The decide mentioned it will violate the provisions of Article 141 of the Structure, which says the legislation declared by the Supreme Court docket “might be binding on each Court docket and Tribunal”.

The tribunal was conscious that the petitioner is similar one that was first declared an Indian, and so the second order can’t be sustained, the court docket additional mentioned.

“The petitioner regardless of being an Indian citizen needed to face detention in a camp and can now be launched,” the court docket mentioned.

There have been circumstances earlier the place the Assam Border Police investigations and orders by the Foreigners’ Tribunal’s orders have come beneath courts’ scanner and folks declared foreigners had been named as Indian residents by the courts.