Gauhati High Court Demands Clarity on Foreigners Tribunal's Rulings
Court Seeks Information from Assam Government
File image of Gauhati High Court (Photo: X)
Guwahati, Oct 12: The Gauhati High Court has requested the Assam government to provide information regarding the timeline of the Nagaon Foreigners’ Tribunal (FT) that declared Jahanara Begum and Mumtaz Begum as foreigners.
During a session on October 7, Justices Kalyan Rai Surana and Pranjal Das instructed the state to disclose the specific date and time when these opinions were formulated.
The court cautioned that if the state fails to furnish these details, it would assume that the opinions were not prepared in a timely manner prior to the women's detention, as reported by a news outlet.
Although the court is addressing the two cases separately, it has issued similar directives for both. These orders were made available on the High Court’s official website on Thursday.
The two women were deported to Bangladesh while their legal appeals were still ongoing, and their current locations remain unknown. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed the court that they are actively working to locate them.
During the proceedings, the MEA requested additional time to find the women, indicating that inquiries into their whereabouts are still in progress.
Reports from late September indicated that Bangladeshi officials had initiated a search for Mumtaz after media inquiries regarding her situation.
In September, the High Court had instructed the Assam government to investigate the timing of the tribunal's recent opinions that led to the deportation of the two women.
According to court documents, Mumtaz, aged 43, was labeled a foreign national by the 4th Nagaon Foreigners’ Tribunal at Juria.
She was transferred to the Border Security Force on June 13 and subsequently deported to Bangladesh during the night of June 13-14 via the Kalaincherra region of Cachar district.
Later, the High Court mandated the Assam government to provide interim compensation of Rs 2 lakh to her husband, Mujammel Hoque.
The court highlighted that Mumtaz was sent to Bangladesh without notifying her husband or any adult family member about her detention.
It also noted that the circumstances hindered her ability to effectively contest the tribunal’s ruling.
This case has ignited a political controversy in Assam. During the recent Nagaon bypoll, opposition parties criticized the state government regarding the deportations.
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) lodged a police complaint against BJP candidate Devashish Sharma, who served as the Nagaon deputy commissioner during the relevant period.
The Assam Congress also reached out to the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, requesting his assistance in locating the two women.