Supreme Court Grants Interim Relief to Assam Woman Declared Foreigner, Seeks Response from State
(Judicial Quest News Network)
Delhi 24, June,2025-The Supreme Court of India has extended interim protection from deportation to Zainab Bibi, a woman from Assam who had been declared a foreigner by a Foreigners Tribunal under Section 2 of the Foreigners Act, 1946. The Guwahati High Court had earlier upheld the Tribunal’s 2017 decision.
A bench comprising Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Vinod Chandran issued notice returnable by August 25, 2025, in response to Bibi’s appeal challenging the High Court’s February 17, 2025 order. Represented by Advocates Fuzail Ahmed Ayyubi and Akanksha Rai, the petitioner claims Indian citizenship by birth, asserting she was born and raised in Assam’s Nagaon district.
The petition highlights a range of documents—such as the 1959 NRC list, voter rolls from various decades, Jamabandi
records, and village-level certificates—to establish Bibi’s lineage. However, the Tribunal had dismissed this evidence, allegedly through a brief and mechanical two-page ruling, citing name discrepancies and insufficient proof linking Bibi to her claimed ancestors.
“Further, when the order passed by the Ld. Foreigner’s Tribunal was. challenged before the Hon’ble High Court vide Writ Petition (C) No. 5531 of 2018 the Hon’ble High Court instead of reversing the perverse finding of the Ld. Tribunal failed to return any conclusive finding on the illogical reasoning of the Ld. Tribunal and went further holding that the certificates of Gaonburah furnished by the petitioner to establish her linkage with her father and certifying her marriage were inadmissible in . ignorance of the judgement passed by this Hon’ble Court in Rupajan Begum V. Union of India, [(2018) 1 SCC 579] wherein it was held that the certificates issued by Gram Panchayats and Gaonburah were very much admissible if they are used to establish legacy linkage provided the certificate and the contents thereof are authentic and verified.”
Her legal team argues that the Tribunal failed to properly consider key documentary and oral evidence. The petition draws upon the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling in Mohammed Rahim Ali v. State of Assam, which emphasized that suspicion alone cannot be grounds for launching proceedings under the Foreigners Act.
The High Court had upheld the Tribunal’s findings, concluding that Bibi had failed to discharge the burden of proof under Section 9 of the Act. The Court criticized the credibility of some documents and pointed out inconsistencies in names—such as Kasim Ali versus Abul Qasim—that the petitioner did not adequately explain in her filings.
Separately, the Supreme Court earlier this year criticized the Assam government for indefinitely detaining declared foreigners and urged expedited deportation proceedings. Reports have also surfaced regarding the state’s aggressive “pushback” policy, raising concerns over alleged deportations of Indian citizens without proper judicial scrutiny.
Multiple petitions challenging these practices are being litigated, with the Court recently directing one group to approach the Guwahati High Court. Meanwhile, Assam’s Chief Minister has defended the policy, citing authority under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950.
