In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court on Monday set aside the Guwahati High Court's judgments that had upheld orders of the Foreigners Tribunals declaring 27 appellants in Assam as foreigners.
A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta underscored that the determination of citizenship or foreigner status must be carried out through a "fair, lawful and reasonable" process.
The apex court remanded the cases to the Foreigners Tribunals for fresh adjudication, observing that questions of citizenship carry immense constitutional and legal significance, reported tthe Live Law.
"The determination of such status must be made through a process which is fair, lawful and reasonable. The statutory burden under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, remains fully applicable," the court said.
At the same time, the bench acknowledged the state's legitimate interest in preventing fraudulent claims to Indian citizenship.
"The State has a legitimate and compelling interest in ensuring that persons who are not legally entitled to claim Indian citizenship do not secure such status by misuse of process, by false claims or by taking advantage of delays," the court observed.
The Supreme Court clarified that it had not examined the merits of the appellants' citizenship claims or expressed any opinion on the genuineness, admissibility, relevance, or sufficiency of the documents relied upon by them.
"Those questions must be decided independently by the concerned Tribunal," the bench said.
The court further made it clear that its order remanding the cases should not be construed as granting relief to the appellants.
"The concerned Tribunals shall decide the cases afresh, uninfluenced by any of the observations made by the High Court or by the Tribunals in their earlier opinions," it directed.
