Supreme Court Stays Deportation Of Woman Declared As Foreigner, Notes Her Family Included In NRC

A woman resident of Assam who was declared a foreigner and whose name was excluded from the final list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) had filed a plea in the Supreme Court (SC), which has sought responses from the state and central government. The SC has directed them that no steps to be taken for her deportation.

A bench of justices DY Chandrachud and Jima Kohli approved the hearing of the plea registered by the woman who challenged the ruling of the Gauhati High Court in June 2019, reported NDTV.

Petitioner's Family Members Included In NRC

The Assam's high court had earlier dismissed her petition, affirming the order of the Foreigners Tribunal, Bongaigaon, given in June 2017, declaring her to be a foreigner who had unlawfully immigrated into India from neighbouring Bangladesh after March 25, 1971.

Advocate Pijush Kanti Roy, appearing for the petitioner, told the top court that all the other members of the woman's family were, however, included in the NRC.

The court bench posted the case for hearing on October 17 and said, "Issue notice, returnable in three weeks." It passed its order on Friday (September 23) and said, "Till the next date of listing, no steps shall be taken for the deportation of the petitioner."

What Does The Plea Say?

The woman has claimed that she is a citizen of India by birth, and the plea state the parents, siblings and husband of the petitioner are all legitimate citizens of India.

The plea read, "The petitioner is a citizen of India by birth, and entire family members of the petitioner from the side of her parents as well as her in-laws have been declared as Indian citizens by the competent authority."

However, it added that the tribunal, as well as the division bench of Gauhati High Court, without looking into various exhibited documents, have declared the woman as a foreigner, resulting in a severe miscarriage of justice.

The plea said that in the draft NRC, the name of the petitioner, along with her entire family members, appeared. But, in the final NRC published by the competent authority, the name of whole family members, except for her, have been included, thereby declaring them as Indian citizens.

It added that the woman had produced a series of documents supporting her Indian citizenship, but neither the tribunal nor the Gauhati High Court believed in them and dismissed her case.

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