The Supreme Court has ordered the interim release of an elderly woman who had been detained for over a year at a foreigner detention centre in Assam. The court noted that the woman, declared a 'foreigner' under the Foreigner Tribunal's ruling, had spent 1 year and 4 months in custody without being able to fully present her case.
A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan issued the order, emphasizing that it was an interim measure without delving into the merits of the case.
"Prima facie, it appears on plain reading of the judgment that for some reason or the other, the appellant was not able to appear before the Foreigner's Tribunal and make good her case that she is not a foreigner but arrived in India within the time period stipulated under Section 6(A) of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1955," the bench stated.
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The case dates back to when the woman was declared a foreigner by the Foreigners’ Tribunal, citing that she entered the state after the cutoff date of March 25, 1971. Her appeal to the Gauhati High Court was dismissed, and even a subsequent review petition was not entertained. With no other legal recourse left, she approached the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court acknowledged that individuals declared as foreigners or illegal immigrants are confined to detention centres. However, if the government fails to deport them within two years, they may be released under specific conditions.
Taking into account the facts of the case, the court observed that, as per the state’s affidavit, there were no ongoing proceedings against any other members of the woman’s family. Thus, the court decided to grant her interim release with the following conditions:
- Execution of a bond with two sureties of Rs. 5,000/-
- Providing a verifiable stay address after release
- Biometric details to be captured and stored in a secure database before release
- Mandatory reporting to a police station once every week
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Additionally, the court ordered that:
"A quarterly report to be submitted by the Superintendent of Police (Border) to the Foreigners Tribunal regarding the appearance of such released declared foreigner to the concerned Police Station. In case of any violation of conditions, the declared foreign national will be apprehended and produced before the Foreigners Tribunal."
Appearance: Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, AoR Talha Abdul Rahman and Advocates Rupali Samuel, M Shaz Khan, Faizan Ahmad, Sudhanshu Tewari, Rafid Akhter, Unni S, Deepesh Agarwal (for petitioner); ASG Aishwarya Bhati (for Union)
Case Title: ANOWARA KHATOON @ ANOWARA KHATUN VERSUS UNION OF INDIA & ORS., SLP(C) Nos.29968-29969/2024
