Nur Hussain v. UOI, WP(C)/135/2019
Read the judgment here.
Date of the decision: 22.03.2022
Court: Gauhati High Court
Judges: Justice N. Kotiswar Singh (authoring) and Justice Nani Tagia
Summary: The Gauhati High Court held that the Petitioner did not have the locus standi to challenge the FT order since he was neither the proceedee in question nor was he declared a foreigner. It observed that the Petitioner could seek relief from the appropriate authorities in case he faced harassment due to the order.
Facts: The proceedings in the instant case were initiated against Md Nurul Hussain. The Petitioner, who went by the name Nur Hussain, nevertheless showed up before the Foreigners' Tribunal and presented documents about his identity. The Petitioner claimed that he was not the proceedee. Considering the material on record, the FT found that the Petitioner and proceedee are not the same people. It further, held that the proceedee failed to establish his citizenship and consequently declared him a foreigner. The Petitioner challenged the order.
Holding: The Gauhati High Court remarked on the peculiarity of the case and expressed its inability to comprehend why the order was challenged by the Petitioner, who was not the proceedee in the present case. The Court couldn't fathom why the Petitioner continued showing up in front of the FT even though he was not an accused. The Court further opined that the Petitioner, “does not have any locus to challenge the opinion of the learned Tribunal as the present Petitioner was never declared to be a foreigner by the learned Tribunal.”(Paragraph 5). The Court means that the Petitioner does not have the legal capacity to challenge FT’s opinion since he was not declared a foreigner. The Petitioner however claimed that he had been harassed by the police due to the FT's order. The Court further directed that if the authority harasses the Petitioner on the strength of the order passed by the FT he has the right to go to the competent authority and seek proper redressal.
Significance: The case reveals a fascinating set of circumstances. The Court establishes that the Petitioner has no locus to file the petition challenging the opinion of a Tribunal since he was not declared a foreigner in the instant case. However, interestingly the Court failed to recognize that the Petitioner was part of the excruciating process of determination by the FT. The order falls short in examining the actual reasons which compelled the Petitioner to be a part of the long-drawn process.
The Petitioner’s contention that police harassed him brings to light the unpleasant fact that persecution and harassment remain rampant in the process of foreigner detection.
While the Court questions the Petitioner's motivation for challenging FT's ruling, it fails to delve further into the Petitioner's anxieties and concerns. Unfortunately, the court did not issue any orders to stop the intimidation by the police. The past is replete with examples of how FTs, aided by the High Court work in tandem to persecute its minorities. Recently, the SC sought responses from the Centre and Assam government pertaining to a Petition seeking to stop harassment of minorities both religious and linguistic in the name of detection and deportation of foreigners in Assam.
While the Gauhati High Court partially acknowledges the problem by asking the Petitioner to seek relief from concerned authorities, it does not do anything to address the gravity of the issue.
Table of Authorities
Bikash Singh, SC seeks response from Centre, Assam on harassment of minorities in name of foreigner detection (Economic Times, April 11 2022)
Asom Sankhyalaghu Sangram Parishad Petitioner(S) Versus Union Of India & Ors (Live Law)
Sagar, How Assam’s Foreigners Tribunals, aided by the high court, function like kangaroo courts and persecute its minorities (Caravan Magazine, 06 November 2019)
This case note is part of Parichay’s ongoing project to study, track, and publish key propositions and latest developments in citizenship law and adjudication in India. This note was prepared by Tanvi.