The Gauhati High Court has directed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Assam government to locate a woman who was expelled to Bangladesh in June, following her designation as a foreigner by a local tribunal. The court had previously requested the tribunal to reconsider its decision in Begum’s case due to insufficient evidence review and ordered compensation.
The Gauhati High Court has instructed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Assam government to locate a woman who was expelled to Bangladesh in June, following her designation as a foreigner by a local tribunal. The woman, Mumtaz Begum, was forced out of India on May 30 after the tribunal's decision, as reported by The Times of India and Scroll.in. Foreigners tribunals, unique to Assam, handle matters of nationality based on documentary evidence. According to NDTV, the High Court bench led by Justices Kalyan Rai Surana and Pranjal Das noted that Begum was not provided a copy of the tribunal's order nor given an opportunity to contest it. The court had previously requested the tribunal to reconsider its decision in Begum’s case due to insufficient evidence review. On September 15, the High Court ordered the Assam government to compensate Begum with Rs 2 lakh for her expulsion that violated deportation rules, marking a first-of-its-kind court order. The next hearing is scheduled for November 6. The court had also directed the foreigners tribunal to reconsider its decision in Begum’s case on September 10, stating that it had not considered all the evidence she had submitted while deciding that she was a foreigner.
Source:
Scroll.in
