Gauhati High Court orders Assam to pay Rs 2 lakh to woman expelled to Bangladesh
The Gauhati High Court directed the Assam government to compensate a Bengali-origin Muslim woman with Rs 2 lakh after she was forced out of India to Bangladesh.
In a landmark ruling, the Gauhati High Court ordered the Assam government to pay Rs 2 lakh to Mumtaz Begum, a Bengali-origin Muslim woman expelled to Bangladesh. The bench held that the Nagaon foreigners tribunal displayed evident malice by declaring her a foreigner without reviewing all submitted evidence and by arranging her immediate arrest. The court impleaded the Ministry of External Affairs, directing it to locate Begum in Bangladesh and facilitate her return.
It also mandated an inquiry by the Home and Political Department into the exact date and time of the tribunal’s May 30 order, authorising seizure of the judge’s computer if required. Further, the court instructed district superintendents to inform declared foreign nationals and their families before any custody or transfer actions. The decision references constitutional protection of life and liberty for both citizens and aliens under Article 21.
Why it matters
It sets a precedent that state authorities can be financially liable for unlawful expulsions under India's citizenship laws.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTBoth camps report the high court’s order for Rs 2 lakh compensation, but left-leaning coverage stresses the tribunal’s malice and rights violations, while centrist coverage presents the ruling more neutrally as a compensation order for a woman sent to Bangladesh without a chance to contest.
LEFT
Landmark ruling exposing the tribunal’s malicious declaration of foreigner status and violation of due process
CENTER
Court orders interim compensation for a woman sent to Bangladesh without an opportunity to challenge the decision
The left emphasises
- evident malice by the Nagaon foreigners tribunal
- declaration of foreigner status without reviewing all evidence
- court mandates inquiry and even authorises seizure of the judge’s computer
In this story
