SC to examine if Foreigners Tribunals discriminate against rural women in Assam, Pg15

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court will examine a petition alleging discrimination by Foreigners Tribunals against rural women in Assam.
• The petition challenges the Gauhati High Court's decision against Meherunnessa, who was declared a foreigner.
• The petitioner argues that requiring documentary evidence from marginalized women to prove citizenship is discriminatory.
• The petition asserts that Meherunnessa is an Indian citizen by birth, born in Assam in 1969.

Detailed Insights:

• The core issue is whether Foreigners Tribunals apply an incorrect standard of proof, disproportionately affecting rural, unlettered women.
• Section 6A of the Citizenship Act sets March 25, 1971, as the cut-off date for determining citizenship in Assam.
• The petition argues that excluding oral evidence, as per the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, leads to statelessness for vulnerable women.
• The petitioner's family has been living in Assam for generations, with her father and grandfather's names in the 1951 National Register of Citizens.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Foreigners Tribunal: Quasi-judicial bodies in Assam to determine if a person is an illegal immigrant.
• Citizenship Act: Defines the ways in which a person can acquire or lose Indian citizenship.
• National Register of Citizens (NRC): A register containing names of Indian citizens in Assam, first prepared in 1951.