The Gauhati High Court has directed the Assam government to provide Rs 2 lakh in interim compensation to the son of a woman who was deported to Bangladesh after being declared a foreigner, finding that authorities expelled her without informing her family and effectively denied her the opportunity to appeal.
In an order issued on September 3, a division bench comprising Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Susmita Phukan Khaund held that state agencies acted in tandem to push Jahanara Begum across the border before she could exhaust her legal remedies. The judges also ordered the Union Ministry of External Affairs to be made a party to the proceedings, indicating that steps could be taken to locate Begum in Bangladesh and bring her back to India so she can challenge the Foreigners Tribunal decision.
Statewide Custody Safeguards Mandated
Alongside the financial relief, the High Court established mandatory procedural safeguards across Assam to govern future detentions by border police. Under the new directions, jurisdictional Senior Superintendents of Police (Border) and Superintendents of Police (Border) must ensure that any person declared a foreign national is formally told of the tribunal’s decision and handed a free copy before being placed into custody.
The bench further directed that police must notify an adult family member before any such detainee is transferred outside the boundaries of the home district. The court granted the interim payment of Rs 2 lakh as an immediate palliative measure to the petitioner, specifying that the sum will not restrict his right to seek additional damages through a civil suit.
Tribunal Accused of Wilful Delay
The ruling followed a habeas corpus petition filed by Begum’s son challenging the legality of her custody and subsequent expulsion. The bench voiced severe criticism of the Foreigners Tribunal’s handling of the certified copy of its opinion, determining that its registry had deliberately and wilfully delayed releasing the document under circumstances reflecting an apparent malice in law.
The judges noted that had tribunal officials verbally informed Begum of the adverse ruling when it was passed, she would not have remained on or near the tribunal premises at 1:30 p.m., where border police arrested her. The court concluded that withholding the certified record forced her son to expend critical time searching for her whereabouts rather than promptly approaching the High Court for legal relief.
The bench ordered the state government to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the delayed delivery of the tribunal’s certified order.
Remand and Rapid Deportation Timeline
Begum had earlier been declared a foreign national by the tribunal, but the Gauhati High Court overturned that finding in April 2026 after discovering that the panel had failed to evaluate testimony provided by three of the four witnesses in the case. The High Court had then remanded the matter to the tribunal for a fresh assessment.
According to court filings, Begum attended the tribunal on May 29, 2026, where her request for an adjournment was denied, and border police took her into custody at the venue. Her family initially could not locate her. Her son later discovered that she had been transferred to a detention facility and was only able to secure a certified copy of the adverse decision on June 5.
Border Security Force records indicated that the border police transferred custody of Begum to border troops on June 13. She was pushed across the international border into Bangladesh during the overnight hours between June 13 and 14.
