Prateek Tanmay
2 min readNew DelhiJun 6, 2026 12:46 AM IST
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the possible deportation of two women who were declared foreigners by the Foreigners Tribunal in Assam.
Issuing notice on appeals by Saleha Khatun and Sarbhanu Begum, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and V Mohana directed that “in the meantime, status quo, as it exits today, shall be maintained” and the petitioners, “if they are in detention, shall not be deported till the next date of listing i.e. 16th July, 2026”.
The appellants contended that they were “impoverished, illiterate” and were working as maids. They said they have been languishing in the Goalpara Detention Camp since March 2, 2026”, after they were declared foreigners by the Tribunal in Darrang, Mangaldai.
The appellants said they belong to economically vulnerable backgrounds and have been deprived of their liberty and separated from their family “solely on the basis of findings which are ex facie perverse, extremely hypertechnical and arbitrary”.
Both claimed that their father’s name is reflected in pre-1971 electoral records.
The duo said they had “produced documentary as well as oral evidence to establish” their “linkage with” their projected Indian parents relatable to a period prior to 25.03.1971” and also produced before the Tribunal “documentary evidence including the NRC legacy details of” their “father, voter lists, Gaonburah. and Gaon Panchayat as” their “linkage certificates, family electoral documents and oral testimony of independent witnesses…to establish continuity of residence and lineage”.
However, the Tribunal rejected their pleas on trivial grounds.
Though they approached the HC, they failed to get any relief following which they moved the SC.
