NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has recently stayed the deportation of four women detained after being declared foreigners by a Foreigners Tribunal in Assam. The women were identified as Basiram Nessa, Musstt Nureza Begum, Saleha Khatun and Sarbhanu Begum.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and V Mohana granted the stay and issued notice to Assam, the Union Government, and the Election Commission of India (ECI) and sought their replies within four weeks.
Fifty-year-old Saleha Khatun—an illiterate woman—has been lodged in the Goalpara detention camp since March 2. In her plea, she said she faces deportation after the Foreigners Tribunal at Darrang held her to be a foreign national, a finding later upheld by the Gauhati High Court.
According to Khatun’s petition, she placed material before the tribunal showing she is the daughter of Indian parents, Ahsan Ali and the late Korpuljan, whose names appear in the pre-1971 electoral rolls of village Nagabandha, District Nagaon, Assam. She said she submitted NRC legacy data of her father; voter lists; certificates from the Gaonbura and Gaon Panchayat to establish linkage; family electoral records; and oral evidence.
The tribunal, in its order on December 13, 2025, rejected Khatun’s claim, citing discrepancies in family details, age, and other particulars. It also declined to accept her link certificates on the ground that the issuing authority was not examined. The tribunal, however, rejected her case mainly due to variations in the spelling of her name, such as “Surbhanu/Sorbhanu/Saharbhanu”, and a mismatch in one electoral entry regarding her husband’s name. She approached the SC contending that the tribunal had completely ignored her documentary evidence.
