The Supreme Court on Monday set aside Gauhati high court’s judgments that upheld declarations of 27 appellants as foreigners, noting that citizenship and foreigner status must be decided through a “fair, lawful and reasonable” process.The ruling came from a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, which remanded the cases to the concerned Foreigners Tribunals for fresh adjudication.The court allowed the appeals while observing that questions relating to citizenship carry “profound constitutional significance” and require adherence to procedural fairness, according to LiveLaw.“Citizenship and foreigner status occupy a field of high constitutional and legal significance,” the bench observed.The Supreme Court, however, acknowledged the government’s interest in preventing misuse of citizenship claims. It said the State has a “legitimate and compelling interest” in ensuring that individuals who are not legally entitled to Indian citizenship do not obtain such status through false claims or procedural delays.“The State has a legitimate and compelling interest in ensuring that persons who are not legally entitled to claim Indian citizenship do not secure such status by misuse of process, by false claim or by taking advantage of delays,” the Bench said.At the same time, the court emphasised that such concerns cannot override the requirement of a fair hearing.“At the same time, the determination of such status must be made through a process which is fair, lawful and reasonable. The statutory burden under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946 remains fully applicable,” the Bench observed.The court clarified that it had not examined the merits of the appellants’ citizenship claims or the documents submitted by them.“We have not examined the merits of the claims of citizenship by the appellants or expressed any opinion on the genuineness, admissibility, relevance or sufficiency of any document relied upon by them. Those questions must be decided by the concerned Tribunal independently,” it said.The Bench also clarified that the remand order should not be treated as providing any relief on the citizenship claims.“The remand being directed is not intended to confer any equity in favour of a person who is unable to establish his or her claim. It is only to ensure that the serious consequence of being declared a foreigner follows from an adjudication which satisfies the requirements of the Foreigners Act, 1946, the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, and the constitutional mandate of fairness,” the Court said.The Supreme Court directed the Foreigners Tribunals to reconsider the cases independently, without being influenced by previous findings of the high court or the tribunals.“The concerned Tribunals shall decide the cases afresh and uninfluenced by any of the observations made by the high court or by the Tribunals in the earlier opinions,” the Bench directed.Relying on Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, the Gauhati high court had held that the burden of proving Indian citizenship rests entirely on the proceedee, as the relevant facts are considered to be within their special knowledge. The high court observed that this burden does not shift even in ex parte proceedings.
