‘Anomalous’ FT judgements: Gauhati HC seeks details of cases from Home Department

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court is not happy with the functioning of a section of the Foreigners Tribunals and the investigation of the Border Police of the state. The High Court has asked the State Home and Political Department to give the details of 20 judgements delivered by the Bongaigaon FT (No. 2).

Hearing the writ petition by Kamala Khatun, the division bench of Justice Achintya Malla Bujor Barua and Justice Robin Phukan observed that Bongaigaon FT had not verified the related documents in the right manner. The bench also found a laidback attitude on the part of the border police with regard to the veracity of the documents.

In 2019, the Bongaigaon FT declared Kamala Khatun a foreigner. She moved the High Court, challenging the FT order. The High Court returned the case to Bongaigaon FT, asking it to verify the cases properly. The FT delivered the judgement against Kamala Khatun following the same procedure, and that led her to move the High Court afresh. The High Court then observed that the procedure of the FT was anomalous and contained only two pages. This led the High Court bench to ask the Home Department to send to the court ten judgements of the particular FT declaring the persons in question foreigners and ten declaring the persons in question Indians.

The bench also observed that border police personnel have the wrong notion that their duty is just to hand over a person of doubtful nationality to an FT. The border police personnel do not bother to ascertain the veracity of the documents based on which they tag the person concerned as a citizen of doubtful nationality. Earlier, the High Court had also asked the Home Department to give details of the judgements delivered by some of the FTs of the state to ascertain their veracity.

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