The Supreme Court of India on Thursday restored the citizenship of a Muslim man more than 12 years after a tribunal in Assam declared him a foreigner.
The bench, comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, criticized the authorities for what it termed a "grave miscarriage of justice" in handling Ali's case.
"In the present case, though it is mentioned that from inquiry it was revealed that the appellant had migrated illegally to the State of Assam from Bangladesh after 25.03.1971 but nothing has come on record to indicate even an iota of evidence against him, except for the bald allegation that he had illegally migrated to India post 25.03.1971. It is also not known as to who, if any person, had alleged that the appellant had migrated to India after 25.03.1971 from Village - Dorijahangirpur, Police Station - Torail, District - Mymansingh in Bangladesh," the Court said.
The court highlighted the lack of concrete evidence against Ali, noting that allegations of illegal migration from Bangladesh post-March 25, 1971, were unsupported by any substantial material. It pointed out that authorities failed to provide essential details regarding the basis of their suspicions or the source of information against Ali.
"In other words, the authority had been, as claimed, able to trace the appellant’s place of origin. Surely then, the authority had some material to back its assertion. The record does not show such material was given either to the appellant or the Tribunal by the authority," it added.
Ali had challenged the tribunal's decision in the Gauhati High Court, which initially stayed the order but later dismissed his plea in November 2015, prompting his appeal to the Supreme Court.
Addressing broader concerns, the court questioned whether the Citizenship Act empowers authorities to arbitrarily accuse individuals of foreign citizenship without substantiated grounds. It emphasized that mere allegations without adequate evidence cannot justify life-altering legal proceedings.
The Supreme Court stressed the importance of due process, asserting that individuals accused of such serious charges must be informed of the specific allegations and provided with the supporting evidence. It criticized the authorities for misconstruing procedural requirements and failing to distinguish between allegations and substantive grounds.
Regarding discrepancies in name spellings and other minor issues cited against Ali, the court cautioned against disproportionately harsh consequences resulting from clerical errors or linguistic variations.
In conclusion, the Supreme Court set aside the previous orders of the High Court and Foreigners Tribunal, definitively declaring Md Rahim Ali to be an Indian citizen. The court directed that its judgment be circulated to all Foreigners' Tribunals in Assam, ensuring consistency in handling similar cases in the future.
Advocates Kaushik Choudhury, Saksham Garg, Parth Davar, Shaantanu Jain, and Jyotirmoy Chatterjee represented Md Rahim Ali, while advocates Shuvodeep Roy, Sai Shashank, and Deepayan Dutta appeared for the State of Assam in this landmark legal battle.
(Inputs from Bar and Bench)
