The Supreme Court recently halted the deportation of a woman declared a foreigner by a Foreigners’ Tribunal in Assam [Maya Rani Barman vs Union of India and others].
A Bench consisting of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, sought responses from the Union and Assam governments, the Election Commission of India, and the National Register of Citizens Assam Coordinator within three months.
“In the meantime, no coercive steps shall be taken against the petitioner based on the impugned judgment and order dated January 11, 2024, of the Gauhati High Court,” the Court directed on May 17.
The petitioner, Maya Burman, who belongs to the Rajbonshi community, challenged a January 11 decision of the Gauhati High Court. The High Court had upheld a 2019 Foreigners’ Tribunal order declaring her a foreigner after she failed to produce necessary documents, including her parents’ old voter cards.
The appeal argued that it was ‘practically impossible’ for Burman to obtain the documents since she moved to Assam due to her marriage, originally being from Cooch Behar in West Bengal.
“In the course of her migration, it was not possible to keep track of those documents as her parents have already died,” the plea stated. It was further contended that other documents linking her to her parents, both Indian citizens, were destroyed in floods.
The High Court also wrongly dismissed her school-leaving certificate as proof of Indian residency and citizenship because the headmaster was not cross-examined. “It is not possible for her to bring the headmaster from West Bengal to Lakhimpur, Assam,” she argued.
Senior Advocate Pijush Kanti Roy, along with advocates Pritthish Roy, Kakali Roy, Sanatan Ghosh, Varun Chugh, Vinayak Sharma, Sharath Nambiar, and Rajan K Chourasia, represented Maya Burman.
