The Supreme Court temporarily suspends deportation of a woman declared a foreigner by an Assam Tribunal, following a directive from Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. Coercive actions against the woman are paused based on a previous judgment.
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NEW DELHI: Recently, The Supreme Court of India has temporarily suspended the deportation of a woman declared a foreigner by a Foreigners’ Tribunal in Assam. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, issued a directive effectively pausing any coercive actions against the woman based on a previous judgment.
The court has requested responses from several governmental bodies, including the Union Government, the Assam Government, the Election Commission of India, and the National Register of Citizens Assam Coordinator, setting a three-month deadline for their input on the matter.
Maya Burman, a member of the Rajbonshi community, is in a legal battle to prove she is a citizen of India. In 2019, a Foreigners’ Tribunal said she wasn’t Indian because she couldn’t show some important papers, like her parents’ old voter cards. The Gauhati High Court agreed with this decision on January 11, 2024. Now, Barman is asking the apex court to help her.
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The petitioner argued that retrieving such documents became an insurmountable task due to her migration from Cooch Behar in West Bengal to Assam consequent to her marriage.
“During her migration, tracking those documents became impossible as her parents had already passed away.”
– her plea highlighted.
Furthermore, the plea lamented the loss of other documents linking her to her Indian parents, which were destroyed in floods.
The Gauhati High Court had also dismissed her school-leaving certificate as evidence of her Indian residency and citizenship, critiquing the absence of cross-examination of the headmaster. Responding to this point, Burman contended-
“Bringing the headmaster from West Bengal to Lakhimpur, Assam, is not feasible for her.”
Representing Barman, Senior Advocate Pijush Kanti Roy, along with advocates Prithish Roy, Kakali Roy, Sanatan Ghosh, Varun Chugh, Vinayak Sharma, Sharath Nambiar, and Rajan K Chourasia. They highlighted the difficulties Maya Burman faced in proving her connection to India, pointing out how tricky it can be to prove citizenship when historical and environmental factors are involved.
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The involvement of the Supreme Court in this matter emphasizes the persistent challenges regarding citizenship verification in Assam, particularly amidst the scrutiny of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). By putting a hold on any forceful actions against Burman, the Court has emphasized the necessity for a more compassionate and thoughtful approach in dealing with such delicate cases, guaranteeing that individuals’ rights are not disregarded due to procedural obstacles.
CASE TITLE:
Maya Rani Barman vs Union of India and Ors.
