Musstt Nazma Begum v. The Union of India and 5 Ors

ORDER Date : 28.07.2023 (A.M. Bujor Barua, J)

Heard Mr. S. Hoque, learned counsel for the petitioner and Ms. L. Devi, learned counsel for the respondents No. 1 and 4, being the Union of India and the State Co-ordinator of NRC, respectively. Also heard Mr. A.I. Ali, learned counsel for the respondent No. 2, being the Election Commission of India and Ms. A. Verma, learned counsel for the respondents No. 3, 5 and 6, being the authorities in the Home Department.

¶2The petitioner Musstt Nazma Begum had been referred to the Foreigners Tribunal, Jorhat for rendering an opinion as to whether she is a foreigner within the meaning of foreigner under the Foreigners Act, 1946, resulting in registration of Case No. FT/CRD/2/2018. The Tribunal rendered an opinion dated 14.12.2018 declaring the petitioner to be a foreigner. Page No.# 3/4

¶3It is noticed that the petitioner after receipt of notice from the Tribunal, the petitioner appeared before the Tribunal and submitted her written statement, but thereafter, did not appear before the Tribunal any further and neither any evidence nor any material had been produced to discharge the burden under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946.

¶4From the facts narrated above, we do not find any infirmity in the order dated 14.12.2018. But, however, for the interest of justice, the petitioner is given one more opportunity to establish her case on merit by discharging the burden under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act, 1946.

¶5In view of the above, the order dated 14.12.2018 is set aside.

¶6Accordingly, the petitioner shall appear before the Foreigners Tribunal, Jorhat on 21.08.2023.

¶7It is stated that the petitioner is under detention in the detention camp at Jorhat. Accordingly, we direct the Superintendent of Police (Border), Jorhat, to release the petitioner forthwith, so as to enable her to appear before the Tribunal at Jorhat. The Superintendent of Police (Border), Jorhat, while releasing the petitioner may obtain necessary information and documentation as required under the Rules from the petitioner for securing her presence. The Superintendent of Police (Border), Jorhat shall also take steps for capturing the fingerprints of both hands and biometrics of the iris of the petitioner.

¶8It is made clear that the petitioner shall not leave the jurisdiction of Jorhat district without giving details of the place of destination and her place of stay to the Superintendent of Police (Border), Jorhat including relevant contact/mobile number. It is further made clear that failure on the part of the petitioner to provide the relevant mobile/contact number will warrant recalling of this release order. Page No.# 4/4

¶9However, because of the conduct of the petitioner in not appearing before the Tribunal without any reasonable cause, the petitioner to pay a cost of Rs. 5000/- in the account of Gauhati High Court Bar Association Welfare Fund and the petitioner would be allowed to appear before the Tribunal on being released from detention on the aforesaid date only upon showing proof of payment of the cost being paid.

¶10It is expected that the petitioner would cooperate with the Tribunal in the proceeding and any further deliberate non-appearance would be viewed strictly. It is also expected that the petitioner would be released from custody before the date of appearance of the petitioner.

¶11The writ petition is disposed of as indicated above.

J U D G E J U D G E Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010158752023 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/4151/2023o MUSSTToNAZMAoBEGUMo D/O-oMAKARAMoALI,o @MD.oMOHAMMADoMOKRAMoALI,o W/O-oMD.oJALALoALI,o VILL-oDURIBAMoGAON,o P.S-oKAKOTIBARI,o DIST-oCHARAIDEO,oASSAM VERSUSo THEoUNIONoOFoINDIAoANDo5oORSo REP.oBYoTHEoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoINDIA,oMINISTRYoOFoHOMEo AFFAIRS,oSASTRIoBHAWAN,oNEWoDELHI-o110001. 2:THEoELECTIONoCOMMISSIONoOFoINDIA oNIRVACHANoSADAN oASHOKAoROAD NEWoDELHI-110001 3:THEoSTATEoOFoASSAM oREP.oBYoTHEoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oHOMEoDEPARTMENT oDISPUR oGUWAHATI-6 4:THEoSTATEoCOORDINATOR oNATIONALoREGISTERoOFoCITIZENS oASSAM o oG.SoROAD. oBHANGAGARH oGUWAHATI-05 Page No.# 2/4 DIST- KAMRUP (M) 5:THE MEMBER FOREIGNERS TRIBUNAL DIST- JORHAT ASSAM PIN-785001 6:THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE (B) CHARAIDEO ASSAM PIN-78569 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR S M ABDULLAH P Advocate for the Respondent : DY.S.G.I. BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ACHINTYA MALLA BUJOR BARUA HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ROBIN PHUKAN